Inside Chitungwiza’s cesspool of Magaya deal

**Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents Association director, Marvelous Kumalo**

Edmore Zvinonzwa

EDITOR

“KuChitungwiza”, in social media speak, is the worst place anyone can live in. Memes of the ridiculous, the tragic, the heartbreaking and the outright idiotic all come labelled with the dormitory town’s name.

The situation on the ground is worse than any meme or nasty joke.

Dry taps, uncollected garbage, municipal employees on their toes attending to sewer bursts across the length and breadth of the town, land barons, potholed roads and blocked storm water drains are just a few of the realities of living in Chitungwiza on a day to day basis.

The same mess follows the local authority, which has earned the unenviable social media award of the most corrupt council in the country.

Work continues on disputed Jonasi Aquifer project

Chitungwiza Residents Trust last week filed an application seeking an interdict at the High Court to stop a Prophet Walter Magaya-owned company, Wistmer Investments from implementing a project rejected by the councillors.

The applicants allege that the respondent in April proposed a Memorandum of Agreement known as the Master plan to Chitungwiza Municipality, committing to fund it, including preparations that shaped the vision of a Smart City for Chitungwiza.

However, the applicants submit that on April 12, 2024, all 33 councillors of Chitungwiza Municipality unanimously rejected the donation, arguing that the conditions of the deal were unfavourable.

It is alleged that the respondent continued to carry out developments within the town’s jurisdiction, including the company’s involvement in the Jonasi Aquifer project, without obtaining approval.

It appears there is something going on with the project despite claims that councillors did not approve it.

Interestingly, a prominent daily paper carried an article seemingly sanitising the deal by chronicling what it seeks to benefit Chitungwiza.

It seems Prophet Magaya’s offer is tempting, given the June 30 deadline that President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave municipalities to produce development blueprints, which are considered key for the social and economic development of Zimbabwean municipalities.

The master plans are expected to create coherent plans for sustainable land use and development.

The Wistmer Investments proposal covers waste management, water supply, markets, transport, light industry, infrastructure development, ICT perception, and town planning.

“In collaboration with Zinwa, Wistmer has already started on the Jonasi project by sinking aquifer holes and an inter-ministerial team visited the site on February 21, 2024.

“The company seeks to enhance the quality of life of the people of Chitungwiza by making a donation worth at least US$3 million towards the provision of equipment for solid waste management, thus helping end the environmental degradation which has plagued Chitungwiza for several years.

“Wistmer wants to work with the municipality to revamp the sewer reticulation system thus putting an end to the persistent sewer bursts that have created health hazards,” reads part of the proposal.

Besides water, the proposal talks about a sewer reticulation system as well as developing markets – modernising structures as well as developing a modern ICT system.

Wistmer also says it is going to rehabilitate Chibuku Stadium and set up a light industrial sector, all very good projects for the dormitory town. However, what is important is what Wistmer expects to get from the deal.

The councillors reportedly rejected the proposal but work is already going on at Jonasi Aquifer and one of the key reasons for rejecting it was that Magaya would have a say in all developments in the town for the next 10 years.

Wistmer would have “an exclusive and irrevocable Right of First Refusal to participate as the lead private partner for any Smart City Projects the Municipality intends to implement; and exclusive development rights to solely undertake Smart City Projects for an initial period of 10 years from the date of this Agreement”.

Following the council meeting to discuss Prophet Magaya’s offer, Acting Town Clerk, Japson Nemuseso said the meeting resolved not to accept the offer.

Residents, however, allege that council stopped the Magaya deal after a document on the deal was leaked prematurely by a council employee.

“Whether the issue is being handled by the municipality, central government or any other authority we smell a rat if the contents of the leaked document are what council will convene to deliberate. We are skeptical of such an arrangement and therefore ready to engage,” one resident said after Chitungwiza Municipality spokesperson, Tafadzwa Kachiko tried to dismiss the allegations that Magaya has been granted open season on Chitungwiza..

“Kindly note that the extract that you saw is from an MOA draft leaked by an overzealous individual. The council will sit to discuss the terms of the MOA.

“The issue is also being handled at the central government level. Due process is being followed,” he said.

The Chitungwiza Municipality spokesperson said Wistmer Investments had expressed interest in investing in eight sectors and code-named this investment drive the Chitungwiza Smart and Green City Transformation Project.

“The projects cover waste management, water supply, markets, transport, light industry, infrastructure development, ICT perception, and town planning,” Kachiko said.

“On January 5, 2024, Chitungwiza and Wistmer signed a memorandum of understanding.

“Then, in terms of the master plan, the two parties haven't signed any memorandum of agreement as there have been issues that we were not in agreement on.

“The council convened a special meeting on April 8 where it resolved to reject the master plan memorandum of agreement draft because of conditions that had been set.

“We went back to the negotiating table, where the parties agreed to remove the contentious clause.”

A representative of Wistmer Investments, Admire Mango said the company was still in negotiations with Chitungwiza Municipality and government.

“There was never any memorandum of agreement which was rejected and remember boreholes were already drilled with US$19 million having been set aside to help Chitungwiza,” Mango said.

Mango said there was another meeting with all ministers involved and direction was given.

Council must be transparent

Residents, however, have roundly criticised the proposed deal, with most, on different platforms, wondering why council was meeting on the issue in the first place when residents were not even aware of the goings-on.

Chitungwiza Progressive Residents Association spokesperson Gift Kurupati said the memorandum of agreement was in bad faith.

“We are not against Wistmer Investments or any form of development in Chitungwiza, but we are saying things must be done transparently,” he said.

“On the issue of the master plan, the council should advertise so that they can choose a competent company through a bidding process.

“As of now, we say no to privatisation of Chitungwiza Municipality and if Wistmer Investments decided to donate whatever to council they must do it without conditions, they approached the council with dirty hands.”

“Muvaudze kuti isu as residence (sic) hatidi madisinyongoro (Tell them that we, as residents do not want nonsense).

Residents referred to Kariba Municipality, which began a consultation process, starting in Nyamhunga, to gather insights and perspectives from residents and stakeholders on the development of the town’s master plan.

For Chitungwiza residents, Kariba Municipality demonstrated its commitment to ensure that the master plan is a comprehensive, inclusive and collective process.

Kariba Urban Residents Association spokesperson, Samson Coffee, said then: “We applaud the Kariba Municipality for their proactive approach in soliciting the opinions of the residents. This master plan consultation marks a significant step towards a more prosperous and sustainable future for our beloved resort town.”

Time to end dormitory status

In a previous interview with Zim Now, Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents Association director, Marvelous Kumalo said towns are supposed to grow because of a certain economic activity not because people will come and settle there without any major economic activity to sustain them.

“Chitungwiza, as a result, has become a place which has high demand for residential land, leading to land barons coming in as central government and council have failed to provide serviced and cheap land for residential expansion purposes.

“Land barons saw this as an opportunity, the housing waiting list continues to balloon, yet in terms of the supply side, nothing is coming in.

“On this one I don’t want to blame the local authority alone but government as well for failing to provide land for expansion purposes,” Kumalo told Zim Now.

Kumalo said that in terms of physical location and nearness to the capital, Harare, Chitungwiza plays a key role in providing not only shelter, but other basic services as well for the capital city.

“This should have convinced government to create more land because there is pressure – people who can’t invest in the capital will start looking at the vicinity and Chitungwiza would come in as an attractive alternative,” he said.

“As it is now, in terms of the growth path that Chitungwiza has taken, it has remained a shadow of the capital city.

“Remember Chitungwiza was established as a dormitory town of Harare and there was supposed to be plans, over the years, on the part of the City Fathers, to shake off this dormitory town tag by attracting industry and commerce so that Chitungwiza becomes a standalone urban area.

“Central government has failed in this development path. We have realised there is no industry to talk about after the demise of Cone Textiles and other industrial setups. We only now have Delta, but unfortunately, Delta Chitungwiza employs less than 500 people,” Kumalo told Zim Now.

He said this has left Chitungwiza to grow specifically as a residential area. Most of its spaces, including football pitches and other pieces earmarked for other uses have been turned for residential expansion.

“So, that gives us a situation which is not good for growth because how will the residents be sustained and how will Chitungwiza be sustained? It means it will get its sustenance from residents instead of from commerce and industry,” Kumalo said.

There are reports that the Zengeza 5 ground was sold a couple of years back to a prominent businessman while the St Mary’s Ground B (Macheka ground) was reportedly sold some time back and will be a school soon.

The Chemhanza grounds were swallowed by the expansion of Manyame Park in St Mary’s.