Last week Friday, the chief executive at the council, Tendai Gundo, announced the organization was suspending all projects due to economic constraints. Road maintenance workers were sent on immediate forced leave. We saw the council closure coming, as the CEO conducted business suspiciously regarding council projects. Misallocation of resources accelerated the fall of the rural and district authority. Revenue realized from council projects such as Damevale Game Park, was channelled towards buying cars for personal use by the CEO at his farm. If he had strategic management skills, how could council purchase a US$31 000 vehicle for the CEO, barely four months before council coffers ran dry? The Game Park project is a massive cash spinner through its hunting quarter system. If properly managed, the cash could sustain council operations, said a management employee with the council.
The Game Park is home to a variety of game such as Sable, Tsessebe, Kudu, Reed Buck, Bush Buck, Zebra and other animals. Though the council carried out no tangible developmental projects on the ground, rural rate payers remained short-changed by the suspension of service delivery. Road network in rural areas is virtually non-existent. Previously tarred strip roads are unusable because of pot-holes. To sideline councillors in decision making, the CEO convened full council meetings once a year, instead of every month. In a ploy suspected to be meant to intimidate councillors, last weeks meeting was attended by a suspicious female addressed as a member from the presidents office. She took notes and names of participating councillors. Gundo also read a letter from the provincial administrators office, which threatened to cease payment of councillors seating allowances with immediate effect. Councillors meetings will also be suspended. Rural communities have called upon Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ignatius Chombo, to investigate the council.