Chombo’s directive follows findings of a probe team appointed by the Minister to investigate the Harare City Council tender awarding process, the allocation of space for car sales and garages as well as outdoor advertising.
The team, in its findings released early this month, noted that of the 200 car sales operating in Harare, only 47 have lease agreements and the rest are illegal and have not been authorised by council.
Of the 47 car sales with lease agreements, the probe team noted, three met the town planning requirements.
Only one out of the 47 was in full compliance with the Harare City Council’s licensing requirements.
“I hereby direct that council compile a list of all car sales and garages and remove all illegal ones by 31 December 2012. This process should involve the police and should be preceded by a vigorous publicity and advertising,” Chombo said in a press statement.
He added: “After all, car sale owners are erecting permanent structures on road servitudes and verges to an extent that some people are now living in those structures, which majority of them does lack ablution facilities.”
Chombo directed that illegal billboards in Harare be pulled down.
The Minister’s probe team, in its report, revealed that 50 percent of the billboards in Harare were illegally and wrongly placed.
“Illegal billboards should be pulled down and all legal LED flashing screens be repositioned in a manner that is compliant with the best practices. Council should have a full inventory of all the bill boards in the city and submit the information to my office by 15 December 2012,” said Chombo.
Chombo expressed concern over the irregularities associated with Harare City Councils’ tender awarding process.
He directed that all water treatment chemicals required by the Harare City Council “be purchased directly from official agencies and not through commodity brokers or “middlemen” companies”.
“Council is directed to come up with standard format for tender verification and adjudication processes. Management should closely monitor and supervise the verification and adjudication processes to ensure the authenticity of bids documents to curtail underhand dealings,” said Chombo.
In its investigations, Chombo’s probe team discovered that there was a lot of underhand dealings regarding the awarding of tenders at Harare City Council.
The seven member team, appointed in September, was headed by TelOne Finance and Administration Director, Ellen Chivaviro.
Post published in: News