The Victoria Falls council has endorsed a decision to suspend the resort town’s Town Clerk, Ronnie Dube, following a string of corruption and abuse-of-office allegations.
In its council meeting on December 3, 2024, the council agreed to set up a commission that would investigate the allegations levelled against Dube while a disciplinary hearing will be conducted afterwards.
The mayor, Councillor Prince Thuso Moyo, said ‘hopefully’ they would be done with these processes by December 23, 2024.
Meanwhile Chamber Secretary, Kholwani Mangena will be the acting town clerk. Dube’s suspension comes after the mayor, wrote a letter to the town clerk on November 2, 2024, amidst growing public pressure and allegations of mismanagement involving millions of dollars in public funds.
In a letter addressed to Dube, Mayor Moyo had invoked Section 139(3) of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), citing alleged procedural violations in the allocation of residential stands, awarding of contracts, and improper handling of council assets.
The mayor’s letter highlights several allegations against Dube, including allocation of residential stands, contract mismanagement and sale of council property.
“In particular it is alleged that you allocated or caused to be allocated stand 9816 to Priscilla Thabolo and stand 9945 to Portia Saritsozo without following Council procedures. It is alleged that the above two have a relationship with you,” read the mayor’s letter.
“It is alleged that you awarded a contract to Cascade Engineering Consultants for overseeing a contract management without following the tender processes and it is alleged that you sold and transferred stand 1829 Chinotimba Township and Council did not receive payment for the same and the sale was not procedurally done.”
The mayor said as a result of the above allegations amongst others, he was suspending Dube with immediate effect in terms of Section 139 of the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15. “You are required to leave Council offices forthwith. Council will notify you on the way forward,” Moyo said in the letter, which was copied to councillors, the District Development Coordinator, and the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
On the same November 2, the Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association and Hwange District Residents Association issued a joint letter urging decisive action against Dube.
The letter, signed by Kelvin Moyo and Herbert Ncube, alleged Dube’s actions resulted in the loss of public funds worth close to US$2 million.
“What is most disheartening being the failure by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and your Council to act when all the information and evidence is already at your disposal?” stated the residents letter.
The residents said they were giving the mayor an ultimatum to suspend the town clerk and to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.
“We understand he is presumed innocent until proven guilty and are tasking you to exercise your mandate by making him account for all his alleged actions and clear his name. With this in mind, we demand that the town clerk be placed on suspension pending disciplinary proceedings,” read the letter.
“We warn and advise that should you ignore this demand, the residents of Victoria Falls will assume that you are an accomplice and will push for the removal of yourself and fellow Councilors from office alongside the Town Clerk. The residents cannot continue to suffer the huge cost of living while the town clerk is looting funds meant for service delivery.”
The residents also copied the letter to senior government officials, including Minister of Local Government – Daniel Garwe, Minister of State for Matabeleland North -Richard Moyo, and the Office of the President.
“No amount of intimidation or manipulation will silence us,” the residents warned.
Sources close to the Victoria Falls City Council claim the suspension marks a fallout between factions within the local authority.
One faction is allegedly aligned with the Town Clerk, while the other is led by the Director of Housing.
“Victoria Falls should be ranked as the most corrupt local authority in the country. The corruption here stinks to high heavens, but it remains unreported because the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) is allegedly captured by local officials,” a source alleged.
A leaked ZACC report dated November 4, 2024, accuses Victoria Falls council of systemic corruption, misuse of public funds and procedural violations in service delivery and land allocation. The report alleges the town clerk and other senior officials handpicked contractors for personal gain, bypassing procurement regulations.
The leaked report, purportedly prepared by ZACC’s Intelligence Unit to the Chairperson, highlights numerous cases of mismanagement dating back several years.
In one instance, Cascade Engineering Consultants (CCE) is alleged to have been fraudulently awarded contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despite the company completing its initial scope of work, Dube and other officials reportedly continued to channel funds to CCE for tasks meant to be handled internally by the Engineering Department.
Allegations of misconduct extend to other senior officials, including the Director of Engineering Services, the Chamber Secretary, and the Economic Development Manager.
The report also implicates Dube and the mayor in the unauthorised sale of a commercial stand and alleges that council funds were siphoned off through fabricated invoices and fake procurement documents.
The ZACC report recommends that criminal charges be brought against Dube and his alleged accomplices.
Contacted for comment, ZACC spokesperson Simiso Mlevu said she was yet to review the report and confirm its authenticity.
