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.
Source: Minister
defends Vic Falls Town Clerk, accuses residents’ groups of politics (05/03/2025)
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Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (6th March 2025) Minister
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Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (8th December 2024) Government
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See Also:
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sentence.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (30th January 2023) Govt says Vic Falls TC Ronnie Dube must face the music.
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Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (30th October 2022) Victoria
Falls Town Clerk Refuses To Resign Over Corruption Allegations.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (7th October 2022) Land
scam: Vic Falls Mayor Dhlamini arrested.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (11th June 2022) Stands
corruption storm in Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (27th June 2021) Victoria Falls town clerk
reinstated.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (26th June 2021) Vic
Falls Town Clerk Ronnie Dube reinstated
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (20th June 2021) Suspended
town clerk gets windfall.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (14th May 2021) Victoria
Falls Councillors Accuse Minister July Moyo Of Meddling.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (30th April 2021) Town
Clerk Dube suspended.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (14th May 2020) Minister
Moyo Settles MDC Factions’ Victoria Falls Mayoral Dispute.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (29th February 2020) MDC
expels Victoria Falls mayor for defying party directive.
Victoria Falls Bits and Blogs (10th February 2020) Victoria
Falls mayor arrested.
