By Correspondent
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has dragged Masvingo Town Clerk, Edward Mukaratirwa to court on criminal abuse charges.
ZACC alleges that Mukaratirwa fraudulently authorised the procurement of a vehicle that was more expensive than the one he was supposed to get.
Mukaratirwa, who appeared in court on Friday, was remanded out of custody until 9 August.
Charges
The state alleges that Mukaratirwa authorised procurement of a Toyota Prado VX-L as part of his conditions of service.
However he was supposed to have acquired a Toyota Prado VX 3.0 litre engine.
The latter was the vehicle which had which had been approved by Council and the Ministry of Local Government.
The approved vehicle, a Toyota Prado VX 3.0 litre engine was valued at US$109 151 while the Toyota Prado VX-L was valued at US$251 798.
This resulted in the loss of over US$140 000 by Masvingo Council.
Mukaratirwa, who won President Mnangagwa’s Best Town Clerk position in 2023, is also accused of misrepresentation.
The state alleges that he informed Masvingo City Council that a Toyota Hilux, donated by the African Development Bank for service delivery, had been allocated to him.
Due to that Council ended up transferring ownership of the vehicle to Mukaratirwa.
