Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE Harare City Council (HCC) has established a special legacy department to investigate past corruption, implement corrective measures, and restore public trust as it moves to address years of financial and administrative dysfunction.
The reforms come amid revelations of ghost workers, unaccounted for millions of dollars and crippled service delivery made by the Auditor-General.
Mayor Jacob Mafume said the unit was tasked with auditing misgovernance by former officials, including unapproved salaries and dubious contracts.
He said they would submit their findings to the Local Government ministry for action.
“We are creating a special department to deal with legacy issues that have to do with misgovernance and corruption by the previous council and management,” Mafume said.
“We also have previous directives from the Local Government ministry, which are part of the legacy issues.
“The special legacy department team will come up with resolutions which will be handed over to our parent ministry, the Local Government ministry, which will come up with the final say.”
The initiative is being led by acting town clerk Engineer Mabhena Moyo and finance director Godfrey Kusangaya.
The Auditor-General’s report exposed millions of dollars in unaccounted for expenditure, unapproved salary increments, stalled infrastructural projects and the presence of ghost workers on the payroll.
It also pointed to lack of procurement discipline and poor internal controls, contributing to service delivery collapse in the capital.
Key interventions implemented so far include a biometric verification exercise that has eliminated hundreds of ghost workers, saving the council millions in wage expenses each month.
In addition, dormant accounts with misallocated funds have been audited.
Several contracts deemed financially harmful to council coffers are being renegotiated or cancelled.
“This council was on a sinking ship. It is not out of the storm yet, but trying to fix the breaches,” an insider said.
Internal audits are now being conducted regularly and for the first time in years, bank reconciliations have been brought up to date.
Service hotlines have been reactivated and residents are reporting incremental improvements in water supply and billing systems.
However, the reforms have not gone unchallenged. Internal resistance and attempts to derail the process have emerged, including anonymous leaks and efforts to discredit senior officials, sources said.
Residents’ associations have cautiously welcomed the developments but remain sceptical.
“We are seeing movement, but after years of neglect, we need consistent delivery,” Tawanda Zimunya, a resident, said.
The City of Harare has faced years of public criticism over poor service delivery, infrastructure decay and allegations of corruption.
While the current leadership says it is still far from declaring victory, it believes the reforms underway will lay the groundwork for long-term institutional recovery.
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