HRT says unimplemented Commission of Inquiry findings have left unscrupulous officials in control of City of Harare finances as contentious Powland car sale plan advances

Harare – The Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has demanded that President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa immediately release and implement the Commission of Inquiry report into the financial affairs of the City of Harare, saying the document has remained secret for 15 months since it was handed over at State House.

The Commission, chaired by retired High Court judge Justice Maphios Cheda, was established to investigate allegations of financial fraud, governance failure and widespread mismanagement at the local authority.

Those allegations had also been presented before Parliament, where the Public Accounts Committee probed the misappropriation of public funds at Harare City Council.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Financial Affairs of the City of Harare was tasked with examining the magnitude of rot at Town House since 2017.

It sought to unearth how council funds were being mismanaged, how revenue was being lost, and how the sale and lease of council properties and land were being handled. It also investigated the governance systems that allowed officials to plunder ratepayers’ money while service delivery collapsed.

Council officials from various portfolios were summoned to testify about their roles, investigators questioned them extensively, and the HRT also gave evidence.

The evidence painted a damning picture. Justice Cheda himself described the situation as having “too many dirty hands in the cookie jar. They are still there,” and said the “Harare City Council has been run by unscrupulous individuals for decades.”

In a statement, HRT said the Commission established key facts beyond reasonable doubt. It recalled that in 2023 Harare Mayor Cllr Jacob Mafume appeared before the Commission and, on camera, apologised to residents and the Commission for governance failures, financial mismanagement and dysfunction at Town House. HRT said the rot was admitted under oath.

On 27 June 2024, Justice Cheda handed the report and recommendations to Mnangagwa at State House.

“We have completed the work that you assigned to us… We are handing over to you, Your Excellency, the report of the Commission together with our recommendations,” Cheda said, according to HRT. The President received the report and thanked the Commission.

But HRT said from June 2024 to September 2026—15 months—there has been silence. No full report published. No implementation matrix. No accountability. It said the bad people are still in control of the financial affairs of the City of Harare.

HRT warned that while the Cheda report “gathers dust,” the illegalities it was meant to investigate continue.

It cited the current proposal to convert the Powland road reserve and greenway into a private car sale, noting the Commission was specifically tasked to investigate the sale and lease of council properties and land.

“How can Council continue to allocate land irregularly when a report on that exact subject is pending?” HRT asked. “Burying the Justice Cheda Report is equal to Burying the aspirations of Harare residents.”

The organisation, which said it represents residents and ratepayers who funded the Commission, demanded the immediate release of the full Justice Cheda Commission Report.

It also demanded the publication of a 60-day implementation plan with clear timelines, responsible people and institutions, and the total budget.

It further demanded a public inquiry update by the Office of the President and Cabinet on why there has been a 15-month delay in implementing the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into the Financial Affairs of the City of Harare from 2017.

HRT also called for the immediate suspension of all contentious land allocations, including the Powland Car Sale proposal, until the Cheda recommendations on land management are implemented in full. It demanded that every implicated official be investigated and prosecuted, and that deterrent sentences be imposed if they are convicted.

HRT reminded the Government that the report belongs to the residents and ratepayers of Harare. “We paid for it. It is about our stands, our governance systems, our roads, our water and our rates,” it said.

“An apology without action, and an investigation without implementation, means nothing. Someone has to be held accountable for their transgressions, to convey a lasting message to would-be abusers of public office.”

The trust said it was “not ready to accept another secret funded by ratepayers.”

It urged the public to support its campaign under the hashtags #ReleaseCheda, #ImplementCheda, #SavePowland and #CommissionOfInquiry.