EnviroPress Reporter
City of Masvingo Mayor Cllr Aleck Tabe has left his home in the high density suburb of Mucheke D and moved into a council-owned big house in the low-density suburb of Rhodene, EnviroPress can report.
To pave way for Tabe, council had to evict its human resources officer Tafara Tavengahama who had lived there for a long time.
The house, situated along Citrus Avenue, underwent extensive renovations, and its garden and outside lawn area upgraded at huge council expense in preparation of Tabe’s take over.
All the three most recent former mayors; Collen Maboke, Hubert Fidze and Femias Chakabuda were not provided council accommodation.
Fidze and Maboke famously turned down offers extended to them by the city, reasoning that such an arrangement would display insensitivity to selfless service expected of them by residents.
When contacted for comment, Tabe confirmed that he was the new occupant of the house, adding that it was council itself that had offered him accommodation.
“It was my decision to move to the mayor’s residence after council approached me and offered me that place. The house was last occupied by Chaimiti and when I agreed to move in, no one was living there. Just like any other city in Zimbabwe, Masvingo also has a mayoral residence,” said Tabe.
Former council employees, however, disputed Tabe’s version of events, claiming that the city’s last executive mayor Alouis Chaimiti and his predecessor Francis Aphiri had never lived in that house.
“Aphiri and Chaimiti lived elsewhere and were paid housing allowances as per their statutorily provisioned conditions of service as executive mayors,” said the source.
“Unlike Aphiri and Chaimiti who were executive mayors hence fulltime council employees of sorts, Tabe is a ceremonial mayor who only goes to council to chair some meetings on occasional basis. He should not live in council accommodation, and this arrangement smacks of greed and abuse of office,” the source said.
EnviroPress also discovered that the last most senior council employee to occupy the house was former chamber secretary Lovemore Tanyanyiwa who is now late.
A resident of Ward 4 said Tabe had demonstrated lack of probity in abandoning the people who elected him.
“Tabe is having his last supper because he understands fully-well that this is his first and last full term as councillor. He is grabbing as much as he can before his political sunset, and he has isolated himself from his voters. He doesn’t understand that a councillor has to be resident in his/her own ward for easy interaction with fellow residents,” complained the resident.
In early 2024, Tabe took delivery of a Toyota Fortuner GD6 procured for him by council at a cost of US$85 000.
To cover the mayors’ general and personal expenses, section 105 of the Urban Councils Act provides only for allowances at a monthly rate fixed by the council but not exceeding rates prescribed by the Minister of Local Government.
Conditions of service of the current crop of ceremonial mayors are decided and given effect by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works John Bhasera did not respond to written questions send to him despite having earlier promised to do so.
