MDC sets the record straight on Harare mayor

Suspended … Harare mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni

1. The Mayor of Harare is a non-executive mayor: we note with regret the selective ignorance of this fundamental position in the current victimisation of the elected mayor.

2. We wish to confirm that all of the Mayor’s actions in all the matters being discussed were council positions and not his own decisions.

3. The mayor’s second suspension only a day after he returned to office is based on the baseless allegation of failing to deal with an external audit called for by the Minister of Local Government.

4. The Mayor committed council to the ministerial directive within 3 days of receiving the letter from the Minister.

These ministerial directives, themselves, are blatantly unconstitutional and are subject of a legal challenge lodged with the Constitutional Court.

5. Because the entities involved fall under separate Boards of Directors, the Harare City Council correctly, directed that the audits be directed to the Boards of the respective companies.

This is position the Mayor formally communicated to the holding company Chairman with further recorded communication that the audits proceed under the holding companies board.

For the record it is quoted that the Mayor wrote, with foresight:

“The guiding feature of this development is that HCC as the shareholder is not directly responsible for the audits at subsidiary ventures hence the re-directing of the matter to the HSH board.

We however incur a huge deficit of goodwill if we (either as HSH or HCC) are seen to be refusing an independent review.”

It issue also worth correcting that while the directive to undertake the audits was based on  the  Minister’s assertion that the commercial entities were not being audited. The reality is that these subsidiary entities were being audited and were actually years ahead of the external audits of Harare City Council itself.

6. In a letter to the Acting Mayor of Harare dated 4^th May 2016 the Minister acknowledges the Mayor’s instruction to the Chairman of the Council-owned entities and we quote:

“I am led to believe that the suspended mayor had given an instruction that the audit takes place but this was over-ridden by the Business Committee Chairman”

It is therefore most surprising that the Minister suspended the Mayor on allegations which in his letter confirms to be untrue.

7. The Mayor who has a 30-year career in financial services with high levels of reporting and compliance takes great exception to the damage being inflicted by this persecution and reserves the right to redress from all parties contributing to this damage to his personal and professional reputation.

We condemn in the strongest terms the treatment of the elected Mayor of Harare in general and specifically the peddling of information which casts aspersions on the integrity of Cllr Ben Manyenyeni.

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