The Victoria Falls City Council’s finance director Neville Ndlovu has been suspended for undisclosed reasons as the MDC Alliance controlled local authority lurches from crisis to crisis.
Ronnie Dube, the town clerk, confirmed Ndlovu’s suspension, but did not give reasons for the move.
“Yes he is suspended, but I cannot divulge the allegations at this point in time,” Dube said.
Ndlovu has been leading the council’s 2023 budget formulation process and recently tabled a US$20 million budget, which was an increase of US$2 million from this year’s financial plan.
The council has been embroiled in financial scandals where the mayor Somvelo Dhlamini, who is currently in remand prison over fraud allegations, Dube and several councillors have been implicated.
Dube and Dhlamini are locked in a fierce fight for the control of the local authority and they have been trading corruption allegations against each other.
Their fight intensified in September when the mayor tried to suspend the town clerk under the pretext that he was supposed to pave way for investigations into the corruption allegations.
Dhlamini was arrested shortly after a group of war veterans and members of the Hwange Residents Association raided the town clerk’s office and locked him out.
Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association executive member Trymore Ndolo last month told a public meeting they had information allegedly showing how Dube and some councillors ‘corruptly’ sold commercial prime land known as Stand Number 8300.
Ndolo said the stand, which was earmarked for a water, hygiene and sanitation project, was sold for US$4 million instead of US$14 million that was agreed to by a full council meeting.
He claimed that councillors and Dube shared US$400 000 that was paid as a bribe by the lowest bidder for the stand.
The group said they wanted Dube to step aside to allow for investigations into allegations of corruption levelled against him to be concluded first.
