MDC-T wants council probe

A party spokesperson said Chivavaya and some unnamed employees from the Department of Housing and Community Services allegedly connived with Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo to implicate councillors Wellington Chikombo, Peter Marange and Herbert Gomba of Glen Norah claiming that they had illegally evicted tenants from council houses in the suburb.

The councillors never evicted anyone and neither do they occupy council rented houses nor are they paying any bills to council for the houses in question, the spokesperson said.

The MDC-T said the houses in question were not a council property but fall under the home ownership scheme, noting that there was no way a councillor or anyone else could therefore engage in a hostile take-over ownership of the said properties. The MDC-T spokesman alleged that the council employees were used by Chombo to fraudulently changed ownership of council tenants to those of Harare councillors in a well-orchestrated Zanu PF attempt to mislead and discredit the MDC-T and its councillors. The MDC calls for an investigation of council employees who fraudulently incriminated MDC councillors when they falsely accused them of evicting tenants when in fact they have not evicted anyone, the spokesperson said.

Chombo could not be reached for comment over the MDC-T allegations. The MDC-T accused the minister of trying to divert attention from a council probe into his illegal acquisition of council land.

The city council resolved early this month to repossess 20 hectares of land at Number 61 Helensvale, Borrowdale that were illegally acquired by Chombo. Following Chombos attempts to tarnish the image of the elected councillors, all the Harare City councillors have since resolved to withdraw their applications for the occupation of council-rented accommodation.