Norton legislator (Independent), Temba Mliswa has said Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo was stifling local government authorities through corruption. He also said despite numeral calls, the government has not acted on reports of corruption against Moyo. He made the remarks in a series of Twitter messages in which he articulated issues overshadowing President Emmerson Mngagwagwa’s success stories. He said:
Let’s face full-on the issues plaguing us on the ground. Councils are crying out against July Moyo who has a litany of corruption charges which haven’t been pursued. Local authorities are under siege from him and nothing is moving there.
How can we keep quiet in the face of such political profligacy? We have said Devolution is the way to go and yet the Minister is hoarding and abusing power. All these are issues which are detrimental to the positives and take off the glow of achievements elsewhere.
Failure to face and speak about these is actually a travesty that is dangerous to ED. There are a lot of social issues which Gvt has failed to respond to. As I have always argued any economic progress has to be felt in the day-to-day lives of the people!
Recently, Moyo was accused of super-imposing the Pomona Waste of Energy Project deal between the Harare City Council and Geoginix BV.
The deal, which was approved by Cabinet and reportedly forced on Harare City Council by Moyo, is racking up a daily bill of US$22 000 since being penned.
Critics say Moyo was violating the Constitution which states that local government authorities are semi-autonomous.
Most urban councils are run by the opposition and Moyo’s alleged interference is reportedly meant to cause local government authorities to fail to deliver expected public goods and services.