Members’ monthly cash contributions amounting to $32,000 have allegedly been misappropriated and have not reached the landowners, Marondera Rural District Council.
Taking advantage of the prevailing chaos, administrators from one of the two camps claiming legitimacy over ownership of Northwing Cooperative have embarked on a repossession spree and have sold stands on the black market at inflated prices. Forty stands have been repossessed by the Mukudu camp and sold for $4, 000 each.
Bogus administration
According to clergyman, Obadiah Musindo, who is founder and director of the housing scheme, which falls under Destiny of Africa Network projects, the Mukudu administration is ‘illegitimate and bogus’.
“This Mukudu administration is illegitimate since it was formed by people who rebelled against the mother institution Destiny of Africa Network. They went on to fraudulently deregister the cooperative and registered it as a private company behind my back. We have taken the case to the police,” said Musindo.
He said he was struggling to provide the police with the accounts audit report because people occupying the cooperative offices in Marondera were not willing to cooperate.
According to documents in possession of The Zimbabwean, Northwing was registered as a housing cooperative on November 25, 2005 in Harare.
Following the rebellion that rocked the cooperative, Northwing was allegedly re-registered in Harare behind Musindo’s back as a private company on June 17, 2010, trading as Northwing Land Developers (Private) Limited.
Destiny for Africa Network under Musindo has since written to the Registrar of Cooperatives in the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises seeking clarification regarding the alleged cancellation of Northwing Housing Cooperative Certificate and the subsequent registration as a private company.
“We are surprised to learn that Northwing Housing Cooperative was deregistered or is being viewed as it never existed. To our knowledge the cooperative is in existence and there is no way a cooperative can cease to exist without members’ resolution,” reads part of the letter.
Rampant corruption
DANet also wrote a letter to Mukudu expressing its displeasure with the way she was running the Marondera office ‘under the guise’ of Destiny of Africa Network.
“Your continued recognition of Chirinda as regional leader means you are out of DANet and should forthwith cease doing any activity under the organisation’s name. Can you also stop collecting money from our members under Northwing Housing Cooperative?”
Musindo accused the housing scheme ‘hijackers’ of rampant corruption as reflected by their sudden change of life styles over night.
“They drive top of the range cars at the expense of cooperative projects,” he said.
He said the ‘administration’ was using political muscle to silence cooperative membership and resorting to court interdictions to bar his management from addressing issues affecting members.
Members expressed concern at what they described as unjustified repossession of stands by the Mukudu administration under the pretext that it had Musindo’s blessing.
Kicked out
At a meeting held by the cooperative at the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises offices in Marondera on February 12, 2013, some members expressed concern over the salaries received by Northwing administrators.
When reached for comment, Mukudu asked this reporter to phone back as she was travelling. She could not be reached later as she switched off her phone.
Chirinda told The Zimbabwean that, “Musindo was not a bona-fide member of the cooperative and previously held the office of spokesperson for DANet.”
“Non-performing officials like Musindo who lack the capacity to make a difference to the welfare of cooperative membership deserve to be kicked out of the organisation,” said Chirinda.
Chirinda denied prevalence of cash misappropriation at the cooperative as he said the majority of members had ceased making monthly contributions.
However, he confirmed that some stands were repossessed and sold for $4, 000 to willing buyers and threatened to continue with the repossessions until ‘defaulting members see sense’.
On whether the cooperative was clearing its debts at MRDC, Chirinda admitted it was not and owed the council a large sum of money due to non-payment of monthly subscriptions by some members.
While Musindo’s camp insists that contributions made by members were being misappropriated and there is need for a proper financial audit, the Mukudu administration blames members for refusing to make payments.
The powers that be
A resident affiliated to the cooperative, who chose to be identified as Matthew, said he feared losing out in the deal as thousands of membership contributions remained unaccounted.
“Repossessions are in progress, soon deserving and poor pioneers of the project will have been muscled out by the powers that be,” he said.
Other members suggested that the government should chip in and subsidise projects carried out by housing cooperatives.
“We would be most grateful if the government at least provided us with a revolving fund for housing cooperatives,” said an official with the Harare North Housing Cooperative.
DANet national chairperson, John Haisoswi, vowed to settle the wrangle in court. Residents here have described the Northwing circus as the worst housing scandal to hit Marondera.
Post published in: News
Musindo imbavha chaiyo. He came to Bulawayo and duped more than 3000 people of their hard earned monies. He is one of the Zanu pf people who were using Mr Mugabe ‘s name in stealing people ‘s monies. He deserve nothing other than a jail sentence. He pretends to be a christian whilst he is a devil. A thief and a abuser.