Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume has criticised corruption in the local government authority saying action must be taken to curb the rot.
Mafume made the remarks during the council’s Audit committee workshop.
Using the viral example of Blinart Investments which won the tender to supply 173 laptops at USD9 264.48 each, the Mayor said the council will not hesitate to act against workers who are corrupt as this has seen the local authority lose money. He said:
We need to look at our systems and act to arrest leakages and as audit, such activities need to be our must-dos, as the internal eyes for council.
While local authorities blame poor service delivery on a lack of adequate resources, research suggests that corruption is regarded as one of the leading factors that have contributed to the demise of subnational governments.
Zimbabwe has experienced widespread corruption in virtually all levels and tiers of government as well as all sectors of the economy, according to Public Administration expert, Dr Tawanda Zinyama, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
While Harare has been struggling to provide basic services such as sewer reticulation, garbage collection and provision of potable water, there have been reports that senior officials in the council have been converting council funds to personal use.
The billing system was also said to be vulnerable to abuse amid reports that some officials had parallel accounts and additional swipe machines they used to pocket council money.