The Zimbabwe government has unearthed a scam in which former cabinet ministers and politicians are living in state-owned houses while the country’s new coalition regime is forced to rent expensive accommodation for its officials.
National Housing Minister Fidelis Mhashu said that there are deliberate efforts by some senior ZANU PF officials to hide information pertaining to state of government houses in order for them to live illegally in these houses.
He said his ministry carried out an audit to find out who was occupying which house and whether that person was entitled to that house.
“Although my ministry has carried out an audit in Harare, we have discovered that a lot of houses are not being accounted for as they are being abused by those in ZANU PF who are not supposed to be living there,” he said.
He also said he was facing resistance from some ZANU PF and former senior government officials who are against the idea of being evicted from government houses even though they are no longer serving in government.
Among those still illegally occupying government houses are the former Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs Abigail Damasane and two former Deputy Education Ministers, Titus Maluleke and Isaiah Shumba.
Maluleke is now the provincial governor for Masvingo.
The three former ministers have since been served with letters of eviction.
Mhashu said the audit has also discovered that a senior ZANU PF official, Stalin Mau Mau was occupying one of the government houses.
Mau Mau has never been a government official. He has since moved out of the house.
Some houses, which were fully furnished have since been vandalized of the furniture, which include stoves and fridges and left in a poor state, the audit found.
“Most ministers are failing to get houses and even I as the minister responsible for allocating houses can’t get one,” Mhashu said.
He said his ministry was going to carry out an audit to find out the correct position on the state of the government houses and flush out illegal tenants.
Source African Press Agency
