Heads are set to roll at the Gweru City Council if a report on the financial health of the municipality recently carried out by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) implicates any official for graft.
This was announced by the city’s mayor Josiah Makombe during a press conference Thursday.
Makombe said the council would not hesitate to wield the axe on anyone implicated in corruption after the report is completed.
“ZACC interviewed those whom they thought had deals which are corrupt. They went through our books and a report is being compiled and we are waiting to hear from them,” Makombe said.
“It’s public knowledge that people are complaining that ZACC is not doing enough and we are saying we need a report from ZACC and if there are any heads to roll, let it be.”
Makombe, however, absolved councillors at the local authority from being corrupt arguing they took an oath not to be involved in any shady deals.
“I get disturbed when I read reports that this council is corrupt especially accusing councillors, yet this council is the one that invited ZACC here. This council is the one that invited the (Local Government) Ministry officials to come and investigate us. You can’t call ZACC and the ministry to come and investigate you if you are corrupt,” he said.
“We want a free, corrupt local authority and we want to make sure that issues of corruption are dealt with at Gweru City Council. My council is very clean. We are not corrupt and we will not tolerate corruption.”
Makombe added senior council officials who were recently investigated for corruption by ZACC were adjusting to the call for a corrupt free council.
“Our managers are trying to adjust; you have heard of officials who have had charges brought against them because of corruption. Corruption has killed the economy of this country and we don’t want to see service delivery suffering because of corruption.”
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