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Poor Management at Bubi, Rot In Council To Blame

Auditor General’s report shows that poor corporate governance at Bubi RDC contributes to a lack of development. Image by GlobGov


BY LIZWE SEBATHA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 30, 2021

Poor infrastructure and a lack of development characterise Bubi, while the issues of historic marginalisation remain, concerns of corrupt dealings could be worsening the crisis.


BUBI (The Citizen Bulletin) — Bubi Rural District Council (RDC) is struggling to pay salaries on time owing to among other issues, a lack of key policies to plug leakages, and loss of potential revenue from some of its clients.

Bubi has vast gold deposits that attract artisanal miners from across the country but the district has little to show for the riches as shown in poor public infrastructure such as roads.

Schools and clinics are few and far apart, forcing school-going children and patients to walk several kilometres to access the services.

While the government is also blamed for stifling growth in Bubi due to systematic marginalisation, it has since emerged that poor corporate governance at the RDC is a contributing factor.

The Auditor General’s (AGs) report shows that the council is operating without some key policies and procedure manuals such as assets replacement policy and risk register.

The council is also losing potential revenue as it has not been billing a number of properties due to a lack of valuation rolls or lack of title deeds to their properties.


“The council did not have an updated valuation roll in compliance with requirements of Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15] section 253(a)-(f).”
The Auditor General’s report reads


Valuation rolls are lists of properties situated within the boundaries of a given local authority compiled for the purposes of billing and taxation.

The Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15 provides for the creation of valuation offices by councils.

Under the Urban Councils Act, all properties are rateable unless an application is made and approved by Council.

The council is also losing money through unexplained expenditure and cash purposes with non-remittance of change from cash purchases being one of the major weaknesses.

“What would happen Honourable Chair, if someone was sent to make a purchase using USD100 and they have not submitted the receipt and the product being bought, on the recording side, they would say, you were given USD100 but you have not submitted anything so that person has not submitted the papers for the records to be enabled,” Bubi RDC  chief executive officer Patson Mlilo said in defence when he appeared before the Public Accounts parliamentary sub-committee on local government on September 24 to answer to the questionable non-remittance of change for cash purposes according to Parliamentary records.

Chegutu West legislator Dexter Nduna who chairs the committee however, said Mlilo was a candidate for arrest, particularly with regards to non-remittance of change for cash purposes.


“In your case, you could be falling under fraud, which is Section 136. Section 169 to 174 deals with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer.”
Dexter Nduna, Chegutu West legislator 


“Section 172, ‘concealing a transaction from a principal and Section 173, ‘concealing personal interests in a transaction and Section 178, ‘obstruction of a public official in the quest of conducting their business,” Nduna said when Mlilo was summoned by the committee for a hearing on September 24 to answer to the charges according to parliamentary records.

“So, there is no dearth as it relates to criminalising the perpetrators of injustice. You were creating a debtor list for criminals…”


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The hearing was also attended by Makotore Maxwell, director in the AG’s representing on behalf of the AG Mildred Chiri, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officials and the police.

ZACC spokesperson John Makamure says the anti-corruption body is now instituting independent investigations at the Bubi RDC and other local authorities following reports of similar acts of graft.

“We are simply executing our mandate to fight corruption. We also work with parliamentary committees so that Parliament can also play its part so that some of the AGs recommendations are implemented,” Makamure says.


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