By Correspondent
Recently President Mnangagwa appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate Harare City Council over a plethora of issues.
Some are legitimate, like how and why Harare has had no Enterprise Resource Planning system for over 5 years.
However, such legitimate reasons have often acted as covers through which the ever-politicking government inserts selfish agendas.
In this case they are usually the installation of a Commission to run Harare City and remove Councillors.
However Commissions have been installed before.
Guess what, they were disasters!
Makwavarara Commission
In 2003, Sekesai Makwavarara was appointed head of a commission that ran the Harare City Council’s affairs.
Her commission was made up of Tendai Savanhu, Terence Hussein, Prisca Mupfumira, James Kurasha, Noel Muzuva and Michael Mahachi, among others.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo appointed the eight-member commission to run the City of Harare.
Though they were all from the private sector they all had government ties.
Makwavarara had previously flirted with both ZANU-PF and the then MDC.
When she was appointed to lead the Commission, she had resigned from both.
The commission was expected to run the capital for only 24 months.
However, Chombo gave no explanation as to why the commission’s mandate exceeded that timeframe.
6 months was the maximum that a commission could run a city under the Urban Councils Act.
The Makwavarara Commission facilitated the ZINWA takeover of Harare Municipal Water Supply.
It resulted in the total collapse of water supplies and sewer reticulation.
As a result, thousands of people died of cholera during her era.
The Commission also recommended the Operation Murambatsvina which displaced millions of people.
Personally, Makwavarara was accused of abusing ratepayers’ money for her luxuries at the expense of service delivery.
She is said to have illegally bought a council house in Borrowdale for a paltry $780 million instead of $5,5 billion (Zimbabwe Dollars).
The commission’s term of office expired in 2006 and was not renewed.
Mahachi Commission
Another Commission was installed in 2006 led by Michael Mahachi, brother to Tendai Mahachi.
Chombo again announced the new appointments to the Harare Commission.
Held over were Jameson Kurasha, Justin Chivavaya, Michael Mahachi and Alfred Tome.
Removed were Tendai Savanhu, Callisto Matafare and Prisca Mupfumira.
New members included Killian Mupingo, a member of the board of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), Civil Protection Unit Director Madzudzo Pawadyira, Sylvia Masango, a principal director in the office of Vice President Joyce Mujuru, and Sasha Jogi.
During its tenure Council lost vast tracts of land in a US$90 million botched Airport Road deal with Augur Investments.
The shockingly skewed terms of the deal, how it went against Harare has become the testament picture of corruption during the Commission’s term.
Under the Commission the sewer reticulation plants in the capital also collapsed.
There was no progress and no improvement to be had.
What is apparent is that while Councillors have struggled, Commissions have already proved not to be the answer.
