The Sunday Mail
Brian Chitemba Investigations Editor
Norton House of Assembly representative Mr Temba Mliswa has made a police report against Zimbabwe Amalgamated Housing Association director Mr Killer Zivhu over allegedly shady land transactions in the town.
Mr Mliswa told The Sunday Mail yesterday that he had also written to Zimbabwe Republic Police Commissioner-General Dr Augustine Chihuri, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and National Prosecuting Authority Acting Prosecutor-General Mr Ray Goba asking them to probe Mr Zivhu’s deals in Norton, which cover 700 hectares of land.
The letter was copied to President Mugabe and Vice-Presidents Emerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko.
Police national spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba could not be reached for comment yesterday as her mobile phone went unanswered, while Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said he was out of office.
Zacc officials declined to comment.
“During my Norton constituency visits, it has been brought to my attention that a litany of irregularities may have been perpetrated in the allocation and administration of land in Norton by Zaha. Some of the alleged allegations border on and appear to be criminal and as a result a full investigation is required to urgently be carried out and accused person be brought to book,” wrote Mr Mliswa.
Details gathered by The Sunday Mail last week indicate 345 residents bought stands from Norton Brooke between 2011 and 2013 before Zaha took over the project in 2013.
According to a letter from Galloway Residents Association Trust to Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere on June 2, 2016, Mr Zivhu was failing to avail title deeds to people who had paid up their dues as far back as 2014.
It reads in part, “Despite having many members with fully paid up stands to this date the area is not yet fully serviced and in the few areas which were supposedly serviced, it’s characterised by poor workmanship with culverts already broken and the roads are in a very bad state.
“The failure by Zaha to fully service the stands is prejudicing our members who finished paying for their stands as early as 2014, as they cannot get their title deeds.”
The residents also questioned why Zaha gave an instruction to Norton Town Council to receipt the home owners’ rates in Mr Zivhu’s company CBZ bank account (01124261210019) instead of residents paying directly to council.
The stand owners said they had provided Norton Town Council with proof to show they had fully paid for their properties in line with agreements of sale.
“Honourable Minister, in light of the above, we request that your good office intervenes so that Norton Town Council stops taking illegal instructions from Zaha and that Zaha meets its obligations in ensuring that the area is fully serviced and proceed to facilitate the transfer of the stands to individual stand owners,” said the Galloway Residents Trust.
Their lawyers, Musoni Masasire Law Chambers, wrote to Norton Town Council on June 7, 2016 questioning the reasons behind receipting residents’ monthly statements in Zaha’s name. Three days later, Norton director of finance Mr S Tendaupenyu advised residents to pay rates to council and not to Zaha.
Residents suspect Mr Zivhu did not possess the Galloway title deeds, saying an estate agency was withholding the documentation because Zaha had not paid for the land in full.
Mr Zivhu yesterday insisted he had the documents but was withholding them because “none of the residents had finished paying for the stands”.
“Residents in Galloway have not yet received title deeds because they haven’t finished paying for the stands. Those who built their houses used what we call parallel development permits which allow someone to construct his/her house while they wait for title deeds. No one has even finished paying because all of them owe Zimra and lawyers in transfer fees. So there is nothing amiss in Galloway, everything is above board,” said Mr Zivhu.
Mr Zivhu was in April 2005 jailed for conning two people of millions of Zimbabwean dollars after taking their money while falsely claiming he could source foreign currency for one, and import goods for another.
