There's some shady stuff going down in Bulawayo, and it's got the land developers all riled up. They say they've been putting up with corrupt city councillors who want a piece of the action. These councillors have been demanding bribes that can be as much as 10 percent of the value of the contracts. Can you believe it?
The whole thing came to light after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) swooped in on the Bulawayo City Council. They nabbed the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, and the head honcho of the Finance Committee, Clr Mpumelelo Moyo. These guys were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, big time.
Contractors who talked to Sunday News spilled the beans, but they didn't want their names out there. They're scared of what might happen to them. They say that Zacc needs to dig deeper into this corruption stuff. It's not just the current crop of councillors who are up to no good. This has been going on for years. Councillors have been demanding 'facilitation' fees, which is just a fancy way of saying bribes.
One contractor said that they had no choice but to pay up. If they didn't, they wouldn't get any good deals with the council. Another contractor said that it was a desperate situation. They felt like they had to pay the bribes just to keep their companies going. They were afraid of being left out in the cold or losing contracts.
For housing contracts, it's even worse. The councillors demand payment in the form of housing stands. So, if a contractor develops an area with 500 stands, they have to give 50 of them to the 'influential' councillors. Can you imagine that? All the money the contractor spent on developing the area, and they have to hand over 50 stands to someone just to get future deals with the local authority.
But there's some hope on the horizon. The recent arrests have got the contractors feeling like things might change for the better. They think that maybe now there'll be a more transparent and fair way of doing things. One contractor said that this is a step in the right direction. They've been calling for accountability for a long time, and now it seems like someone is finally listening.
It's not just the contractors who are in a tight spot. Service providers are also getting the short end of the stick. Councillors are intimidating them, saying that they're the ones who got the service approved. They're demanding a cut of the action, too.
One service provider said that the councillors were a huge problem. They were demanding 10 percent of what the service provider had charged the local authority. The service provider knew that the councillors were lying, so they just ignored them. But the councillors kept calling and demanding their cut.
And it gets even worse. A senior council employee spilled the beans on how the councillors are even getting in on the hiring of important staff. They're demanding bribes from people who want senior positions where the councillors have a say in who gets hired.
It's a real mess, and it's about time someone cleaned it up.
The whole thing came to light after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) swooped in on the Bulawayo City Council. They nabbed the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, and the head honcho of the Finance Committee, Clr Mpumelelo Moyo. These guys were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, big time.
Contractors who talked to Sunday News spilled the beans, but they didn't want their names out there. They're scared of what might happen to them. They say that Zacc needs to dig deeper into this corruption stuff. It's not just the current crop of councillors who are up to no good. This has been going on for years. Councillors have been demanding 'facilitation' fees, which is just a fancy way of saying bribes.
One contractor said that they had no choice but to pay up. If they didn't, they wouldn't get any good deals with the council. Another contractor said that it was a desperate situation. They felt like they had to pay the bribes just to keep their companies going. They were afraid of being left out in the cold or losing contracts.
For housing contracts, it's even worse. The councillors demand payment in the form of housing stands. So, if a contractor develops an area with 500 stands, they have to give 50 of them to the 'influential' councillors. Can you imagine that? All the money the contractor spent on developing the area, and they have to hand over 50 stands to someone just to get future deals with the local authority.
But there's some hope on the horizon. The recent arrests have got the contractors feeling like things might change for the better. They think that maybe now there'll be a more transparent and fair way of doing things. One contractor said that this is a step in the right direction. They've been calling for accountability for a long time, and now it seems like someone is finally listening.
It's not just the contractors who are in a tight spot. Service providers are also getting the short end of the stick. Councillors are intimidating them, saying that they're the ones who got the service approved. They're demanding a cut of the action, too.
One service provider said that the councillors were a huge problem. They were demanding 10 percent of what the service provider had charged the local authority. The service provider knew that the councillors were lying, so they just ignored them. But the councillors kept calling and demanding their cut.
And it gets even worse. A senior council employee spilled the beans on how the councillors are even getting in on the hiring of important staff. They're demanding bribes from people who want senior positions where the councillors have a say in who gets hired.
It's a real mess, and it's about time someone cleaned it up.
