The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has absolved Victoria Falls Mayor, Councillor Somvelo Dlamini, of corruption charges, and instead found the Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube, culpable on a number of graft charges.
Last year, Victoria Falls residents locked Dube’s office, accusing him of corruption, and in response, the Ministry dispatched a team to the city to investigate the allegations against him.
According to findings of the inquiry that have already been presented to the local authority, Dube has been found culpable on a number of charges. Part of the report reads:
The Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube must be held accountable and culpable for writing to Jackelberry informing them that they had a 15-year lease that was being processed by council when in fact no allocation and resolution had been passed by council.
By so doing, the Town Clerk usurped the powers of council to resolve this critical matter an issue that the executive was expected to implement after resolution.
The Town Clerk Ronny Dube must be held culpable and accountable for allocating the Chinotimba Brewery to Jackelberry investments without a council resolution and authority.
The Town Clerk must be held accountable for variation of the employment of his contract by applying for a vehicle loan and requesting for a discount fully aware that it was not provided.
Dube has been ordered to pay the loan in full as the council was prejudiced of US$20 075.
He was also found guilty of presenting matters in Full Council without first presenting the matters to committees for deliberations and for running council without Work Plans and failing to properly appraise his management during the course of the year, among other allegations. | The Sunday News