Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the reinstatement of Victoria Falls Town Clerk Ronnie Dube, a decision which sparked widespread controversy, with residents accusing the government of protecting an official accused of corruption and misconduct.
The town clerk’s suspension and subsequent reinstatement last year sparked outrage among residents while raising questions about transparency and accountability in local governance.
Residents accused the minister of protecting Dube and undermining efforts to root out corruption.
However Garwe, vehemently denies any wrongdoing, insisting the decision to reinstate the town clerk was based on procedural concerns and a desire to avoid costly legal battles.
In an interview with CITE, Garwe addressed the growing public outcry, stating his interference was to save the credibility of the local authority.
“Who are these residents? Firstly, the residents’ associations are a grouping of people of like minds. It’s not an organisation informed by the Constitution. There is no constitutional provision for those. For lack of a better example, they are just like a burial society. But be that as it may, the citizens, the residents, they have the right to air their complaints,” he said.
The controversy surrounding the town clerk began on December 2, 2024, when Victoria Falls Mayor Prince Thuso Moyo, acting on a resolution from a full council meeting, suspended Dube over allegations of misconduct.
The allegations included the unprocedural allocation of residential stands, irregularities in awarding contracts, and the fraudulent sale of land.
A Board of Inquiry was established on December 4, 2024 by the Mayo to investigate the claims, which found “criminal acts were committed” by the town clerk.
Among other irregularities, the board found 12 stands were set aside under instructions by the town clerk.
“The Vetting Committee was later given names to allocate the same stands to. They did say that two of the stands were then allocated to Portia Sarutsozo, an alleged girlfriend of Ronnie Dube and Priscilla Thabolo, Ronnie Dube’s former wife. The applicants who had indicated interest but did not qualify but were still allocated stands included Moreblessing Tomu ( Dube’s wife),” read part of the inquiry report.
Other beneficiaries allegedly included Dr Fulton Upenyu Mangwanya, who became Director General of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) this year, Jenfan Muswere – the Information Minister and former MP, Temba Mliswa.
After the town clerk was suspended, the minister intervened, instructing the council to reinstate Dube.
Garwe defended his decision, arguing the mayor and councillors had failed to follow due process in suspending Dube.
“We never said, ‘don’t remove or don’t investigate.’ We simply said, based on history, the government is losing a lot of money in paying for lawsuits. When we go to court, we lose, because we lose on a technicality. So we said, ‘reinstate the Town Clerk and then start the process accordingly,’” he said.
The minister revealed the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) had been invited to investigate the Victoria Falls council as a whole, rather than focusing solely on Dube.
“After the town clerk was reinstated, we invited ZACC to come to Victoria Falls and investigate Victoria Falls as a council, not only an individual. It’s now a work in progress. Once that is done, decisions to be made thereafter will be informed by the legitimate report from ZACC, not the report that was being floated on social media,” Garwe said.
Garwe also criticised the mayor for succumbing to pressure from residents’ associations, which he accused of pursuing political agendas.
“If we had gone to court, we would have lost because the mayor met with a group of members of the so-called residents’ association in the morning. At lunchtime, he called the town clerk and gave him a suspension letter. Then in the evening, the council called for a full council meeting to pass a resolution. Already, there is a problem there,” he said.
Garwe noted the importance of following due process, noting the mayor should have first raised his concerns with Dube then issued a written warning before moving to suspend him.
“That’s why I was saying, why don’t you follow due process, do things properly? The mayor should have called the Town Clerk and raised issues that he was not happy about. ‘We have one, two, three, four issues that we’re not happy about, Mr Town Clerk.’ That is then followed by a written warning then other processes.”
He also dismissed the residents’ associations as unrepresentative and driven by political motives.
“In any event, the town clerk is not the only person guilty of some misconduct. It’s the whole system. So we said, instead of focusing on one person, because you have personal differences, why don’t we formally invite ZACC to come and carry out an investigative audit of the areas of concern, particularly on the issue of allocation of state land,” Garwe said.
“That’s where the problem is with all these local authorities, land. That’s what is happening now. But those residents associations were pursuing political agendas. They wanted to further political agendas. We are above some of these political agendas. We are professionals. We want to do things properly and then move forward.”
Despite Garwe’s assurances, the residents of Victoria Falls remain unconvinced.
Last year, in an open letter to the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Matabeleland North, Richard Moyo, the residents expressed their dismay.
“We, however, as the inhabitants of the area and ratepayers whose assets (land, finances, services, and rights) were allegedly usurped by Mr. Ronnie Dube, were dismayed by the Hon Minister’s instruction. We still do not understand why the Hon Minister would stop an investigation into corruption,” read the letter.
The residents argued no expense should be spared in the fight against corruption, pointing out that the Board of Inquiry’s findings aligned with an earlier ZACC report that went viral on social media.
“The minister’s explanation that the investigation would be too costly for the inhabitants of the town since the VFCC had constituted ‘two bodies of inquiries’ was simply misinformed and thereby factually defective. We still do not understand which second body of inquiry the minister was referring to because the council appointed only one Board of Inquiry as mentioned above. We also believe that no expense must be spared to rid the VFCC of the corrosive cancer of corruption.”
The residents also criticised Garwe for meeting with the Zanu PF District Coordinating Committee (DCC) while refusing to engage with other stakeholders.
They accused him of politicising the issue and undermining the independence of ZACC.
“The minister did not come all the way from the capital Harare to announce that the ZACC report is a fraud. He came to Victoria Falls town to, albeit too late, investigate the circumstances and the merits surrounding the suspension of the town clerk by the mayor. After refusing to address the stakeholders who were waiting outside the venue, the wise move was to tackle the real issues with the Zanu PF DCC. He did not.”
The residents of Victoria Falls have vowed to keep fighting for accountability.
“We, the people of Victoria Falls, pledge that we will not rest until justice is served. We want the stands Ronnie Dube allegedly allocated to his wife, former wife, girlfriends, cronies, bribe-payers, to be repossessed by council and allocated to deserving people on the waiting list. “We call upon the office of the Hon Minister of State for Matabeleland North to ensure that the suspended Town Clerk stays suspended until he sees his day in court or before a labour/disciplinary tribunal or both,” read the letter.
ZACC spokesperson Simiso Mlevu confirmed they were “investigating the corruption allegations at the Victoria Falls council.”
“And these are still ongoing. Our investigations started in November last year. Once investigations are complete, the public will be updated,” Mlevu said.
