Harare Quarry Private Limited took a $4,500,000 loan from Harare City Council without any written agreement. The city never appeared as an official owner on company papers. Records show that two past city employees registered themselves as business owners. The Herald learned these details recently.
The company has remained very secretive since 2018. Nobody knows about its money, profits, or payments back to the city. For eleven months, around $56,000 went toward salaries for people who might not exist. Millions more vanished without any receipts or paperwork showing where the cash went.
Parker Randall Chartered Accounts ran a special check on the books from December 2017 through June 2019. Their report showed that when Harare Quarry received $4.5 million, Mrs. Josephine Ncube and Mr. Philip Mabingo Pfukwa appeared as owners. Company papers filed on August 10, 2016, at the government office confirmed this arrangement.
The city hired Parker Randall on June 12, 2021, to dig into the financial mess. The city never shared what the accountants found with anyone. Legal experts say Harare risks losing control of its businesses. Many city companies - including Harare Quarry and Rufaro Marketing - list regular people as owners instead of the city itself.
According to papers dated August 10, 2016, Mrs. Ncube and Mr. Pfukwa each claimed one share out of 20,000 possible shares. The report warned that this creates big legal problems. Anyone can argue about who really owns Harare Quarry based on the official registration papers at the government office.
The investigators discovered that nobody created monthly pay summaries between December 2017 and October 2018. This opening allowed fake employees to receive money or real workers to collect bigger paychecks than their contracts allowed. Every single payment adding up to $4,566,407.61 during the audit period lacked proper vouchers.
This suggests that managers never approved these payments or deliberately removed the paperwork to hide their actions. Salary payments between December 2017 and October 2018 totaled $56,437.79. The report criticized the missing loan agreement as terrible business practice. Related businesses must still use proper paperwork stating interest rates and repayment schedules.
Residents criticized the city council for ignoring proper procedures. One accountant who stayed anonymous explained why nobody faced arrest in three years. Without a loan agreement, legal battles become expensive. Courts must rely on witness statements, emails, and bank records to determine what everyone agreed to do.
Combined Harare Residents Association director Rueben Akili called this scandal just a small part of a much bigger theft of city resources. He expressed concern about these activities happening for years with elected officials watching. The same people claiming they want reform actually want chances to steal, making improvement nearly impossible.
The 2021 report recommended updating official papers to make Harare City a shareholder. The city failed to make these changes. The Herald checked with government offices last week and found only Mrs. Ncube and Mr. Pfukwa listed as owners, four years after receiving this advice. Mr. Pfukwa denied being an owner, despite his name being on the papers.
He claimed he had given up his shares about a year ago without showing proof. Mr. Pfukwa admitted leading efforts to revive Harare Quarry starting July 2017 but said he quit by late 2017. He insisted he never spent any of the $4.5 million project money. Mrs. Ncube never answered phone calls seeking her comments.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume insisted Harare Quarry always belonged to the city council. He called the two shareholders "nominal" and dismissed company registration papers as meaningless. The mayor claimed Harare Quarry Private Limited had become inactive. He compared it to City Park's parking spaces, which stay under city control regardless of company changes.
Mayor Mafume rejected the need for a loan agreement despite audit recommendations. He argued that since Harare Quarry operates as part of the city, creating a loan agreement would mean making a deal with themselves. Company managers stated they tried but failed to get loan paperwork from the city. This left $4.5 million sitting unused from November 2017 through May 2018.
Management acknowledged discussing shareholder problems at a November 16, 2020, meeting. They claimed they started fixing this issue then. The Herald discovered the problem remains unsolved five years later. Mayor Mafume said he finally reported the case to police after recent commission hearings. The Criminal Complaints Division began investigating.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi neither confirmed nor denied receiving this report. He wanted to check with other departments before commenting further. Legal experts warned that putting city businesses under individual names creates serious risks. Mayor Mafume admitted the two people remain listed as owners but said the council passed a resolution to remove them.
The company has remained very secretive since 2018. Nobody knows about its money, profits, or payments back to the city. For eleven months, around $56,000 went toward salaries for people who might not exist. Millions more vanished without any receipts or paperwork showing where the cash went.
Parker Randall Chartered Accounts ran a special check on the books from December 2017 through June 2019. Their report showed that when Harare Quarry received $4.5 million, Mrs. Josephine Ncube and Mr. Philip Mabingo Pfukwa appeared as owners. Company papers filed on August 10, 2016, at the government office confirmed this arrangement.
The city hired Parker Randall on June 12, 2021, to dig into the financial mess. The city never shared what the accountants found with anyone. Legal experts say Harare risks losing control of its businesses. Many city companies - including Harare Quarry and Rufaro Marketing - list regular people as owners instead of the city itself.
According to papers dated August 10, 2016, Mrs. Ncube and Mr. Pfukwa each claimed one share out of 20,000 possible shares. The report warned that this creates big legal problems. Anyone can argue about who really owns Harare Quarry based on the official registration papers at the government office.
The investigators discovered that nobody created monthly pay summaries between December 2017 and October 2018. This opening allowed fake employees to receive money or real workers to collect bigger paychecks than their contracts allowed. Every single payment adding up to $4,566,407.61 during the audit period lacked proper vouchers.
This suggests that managers never approved these payments or deliberately removed the paperwork to hide their actions. Salary payments between December 2017 and October 2018 totaled $56,437.79. The report criticized the missing loan agreement as terrible business practice. Related businesses must still use proper paperwork stating interest rates and repayment schedules.
Residents criticized the city council for ignoring proper procedures. One accountant who stayed anonymous explained why nobody faced arrest in three years. Without a loan agreement, legal battles become expensive. Courts must rely on witness statements, emails, and bank records to determine what everyone agreed to do.
Combined Harare Residents Association director Rueben Akili called this scandal just a small part of a much bigger theft of city resources. He expressed concern about these activities happening for years with elected officials watching. The same people claiming they want reform actually want chances to steal, making improvement nearly impossible.
The 2021 report recommended updating official papers to make Harare City a shareholder. The city failed to make these changes. The Herald checked with government offices last week and found only Mrs. Ncube and Mr. Pfukwa listed as owners, four years after receiving this advice. Mr. Pfukwa denied being an owner, despite his name being on the papers.
He claimed he had given up his shares about a year ago without showing proof. Mr. Pfukwa admitted leading efforts to revive Harare Quarry starting July 2017 but said he quit by late 2017. He insisted he never spent any of the $4.5 million project money. Mrs. Ncube never answered phone calls seeking her comments.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume insisted Harare Quarry always belonged to the city council. He called the two shareholders "nominal" and dismissed company registration papers as meaningless. The mayor claimed Harare Quarry Private Limited had become inactive. He compared it to City Park's parking spaces, which stay under city control regardless of company changes.
Mayor Mafume rejected the need for a loan agreement despite audit recommendations. He argued that since Harare Quarry operates as part of the city, creating a loan agreement would mean making a deal with themselves. Company managers stated they tried but failed to get loan paperwork from the city. This left $4.5 million sitting unused from November 2017 through May 2018.
Management acknowledged discussing shareholder problems at a November 16, 2020, meeting. They claimed they started fixing this issue then. The Herald discovered the problem remains unsolved five years later. Mayor Mafume said he finally reported the case to police after recent commission hearings. The Criminal Complaints Division began investigating.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi neither confirmed nor denied receiving this report. He wanted to check with other departments before commenting further. Legal experts warned that putting city businesses under individual names creates serious risks. Mayor Mafume admitted the two people remain listed as owners but said the council passed a resolution to remove them.
