GODFREY MUFURANHEWE DISRUPTED FULL COUNCIL MEETING IN RUSAPE

In compliance with the ministry of Local Government letter signed by its secretary Z. R Churu on the 5th of May 2020, the Rusape Town council started holding its special full council meetings. Sadly on the 3rd of July one of their special full council meeting was disrupted by Godfrey Mufuranhewe aka Joytec and a small group of people who traded fairness with money. This publication has it on good authority that the Town Secretary Mr Gabaza raised the money to spoil whoever was going to participate on the day to disrupt the meeting at paMugodo lodge. Ten people interviewed by this publication confirmed were paid usd$2 by Joytec who guaranteed their security as intelligence Operatives would cover them. Some residents interviewed confirmed they were approached but couldn't take the risk so they refused the offer. This publication also saw members of Intelligence and president's office who include Saunyama on the day in question participating. This might be the reason why members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police were reluctant to assist. One would ask himself: If Gabaza is innocent why disrupting meetings? What is Joytec trying to cover up? Why fighting the process instead of clearing their names. All these questions must be asked by the Minister as well otherwise residents may blame him as well. 

Is Joytec qualified to stop the council business? Is he the only resident who is affected by Gabaza's suspension? His actions speaks louder than his voice and since he is implicated in the report these are actions of sour grapes. He is trying to spoil everything that was exposed in the report. So is this how the Local authorities should be run? If people protected a person who is fingered we expect better from line ministers. This publication took a video of the act and Joytec is heard in the video recoding callings;"Mission accomplish", which mission now? 

Joytec and his mob were chanting the names of senior officials of the Ministry of Local Government chief among them madam Erica Jones. They were threatening to fire Hon July Moyo if he failed to reinstate Gabaza and they promised to halt all council business because Gabaza is innocent-- a clear sign of siding with him. The council officials are now living in fear as serious threats were made to them and police were reluctant to assist. So the officials are saying if Joytec can fire the Minister and his subordinate Erica Jones what's so special with them? 

This publication also noted there are two centres of power at council. It is mind bongling as to who convinced the councillors to convene a meeting outside council premises at Mugodo and it is said refreshments were bought for the first time at special council meeting. Was this not a trap for councilors? All along no refreshments were bought at special full council meetings but this time at Mugodo Logde they were given some refreshments so that when Joytec and mob arrived they could take photos and proved them wrong. Who is behind that act at council? Time will tell. The Mugodo Lodge can be highly secured but surprisingly interruptors freely gained entry and disrupted the ongoing meeting. Someone at council is behind all this and only time will tell. 

The Ministry of Local Government is now causing confusion in Rusape through the involvement of Acting PDC Mr Seenza and DDC Mr Mashindi. They are fighting in Gabaza's Corner trying to discredit the council's work on political grounds. This is very unfair

Below is a press statement from Council regarding the 03 July incident.

Rusape Town Council  update:

05 July 2020

Rusape Town Council through Council Chairperson Clr Lyton Sithole sent Town Secretary Mr Solomon Gabaza on a forced leave  (11 May - 11 August 2020).

The enabling instrument that enpowered the process was derived from the Urban Council's Act Section 139.

Council had an option to suspend the Town Secretary then, however facts and evidence to support the allegations had to be comprehensively gathered so that it remained in tandem with the labour processes hence the option of the forced leave to facilitate such investigations.

Again Council using the urban Council's Act Section 100 appointed a five member Committee to investigate the allegations as had been raised.

The above sighted Section 100 clearly spells out the composition of the special comittee with emphasis on a Councillor chairing that specific Committee.

On each of the steps undertaken there was need for a Special Full Council to adopt the Chairperson's actions and recommendations hence the subsequent meetings which resulted in one such being hijacked by individuals who had an ulterior motive that was not premised on any Act of the Local Authorities guidelines.

As the Council sanctioned Committee was going through the processes, letters from the Town Secretary's legal representantive, the local District Development Cordinator and the Provincial Development Cordinator to the Local government ministry were written challenging the validity of the Council sanctioned Committee.

This then necessiteted the setting up of the ministerial appointed Commission.

The Commission had its terms of reference that among others was to determine the validity of the allegations as raised by Council and the circumstances leading to the forced leave.

The Council sanctioned committee produced a detailed report which was subsequently adopted by the  Special Full Council before it was delivered and submitted to the parent Ministry by the Council Chairperson. 

It is the very same report that was requested by the Ministerial appointed Commission to enable its operations as determined by its terms of reference. 

Having submitted the report to the Ministry, Council was adequately advised that the two investigating Committees were parallel and their mandates would not interfere in the activities of the other. 

Premised on the above exchanges, Council had an obligation to persue its labour path as the bonafide employer of the Town Secretary. The fact that an employee had been put on forced leave, investigations having been carried out, the next logical labour course was to either put him on suspension or uplift the leave in fulfillment of the Labour Act. 

As alluded before, Council had to convene a Special Full Council to adopt the upliftment of the leave and the suspension letter as well as make a resolution to that effect. 

It is this very meeting that was then disrupted on Friday 03 July 2020 by the holigans masquerading as representatives of Residents Association. 

Before the abandoned Special Full Council Meeting, letters had been served concurrently on the Town Secretary's Lawyer in Harare and his residence here in Rusape.

Council on serving him had to employ the services of the Messenger of Court as it had earlier on failed to gain access beyond the Secretary's gate in order to have the return of service signed as confirmation of receipt.

It is Council's belief that the unpleasant disturbances at both PaMugodo Lodge and Council premises were an effort to technically stop the lawful processes from taking place. 

Joytech a known sympathiser to the suspended Town Secretary and  one who is implicated in the report as a beneficiary of the Secretary's unprocedural land allocation mobilised  people sympathetic to their cause on social media platforms to swarm the venue for the Special Full Council Meeting with a view to cause pandemonium and ultimately technical challenges to stop all due legal processes  prior to the Hearing and on the Hearing process.

It is also important to note that since the Covid 19 and Lockdown inception, Council received circulars and memoranda to the effect that no Council Meetings should be held in a place that does not meet the standard guidelines such as social distancing of one metre apart, a requirement that the Council Boardroom does not meet. It is also these circulars that placed a decree on non attendancies to such meetings by members of the public other than the invited persons. See attached the circular to that effect

These activities by Joytech (Godfrey Mufuranhewe) and his hangers on were meant to portray Council as insensitive to the residents and ratepayers as bent on wantomly spending a lot of revenue on a futile exercise of demonizing and victimising the Town Secretary on political grounds. 

Indeed this is an exercise that will give the affected parties an opportunity to clear themselves of the allegations levelled against them. 

This is a natural requirement that cannot be overlooked when dealing with Labour issues particularly on  employer and employee grievances. 

No amount of intimidation, holiganism and political inferences would ever win over this basic Labour practice and fundamental. 

It is also important to note that the District Development and Provicial Development Cordinators tried in vain to have the Council Chair abandon the Special Full Council Meeting that intended to adopt and resolve the upliftment of the leave and the  suspension of the Town Secretary. 

The two senior Civil Servants had sighted the Ministerial Commission which they claimed was yet to give its findings to its principal. They were oblivious of the fact that the Commission was running a parallel exercise independent of the Council's investigations and any would follow Council action as had been advised before. 

The Council Chair was adamant that should the Parent Ministry decide otherwise, it would in its wisdom write and inform the Council as its custom and norm to communicate in black and white. He also made it very crystal clear that Rusape Town Council in its recent history had never refused to cooperate with the circulars, directives and memoranda from the Ministry and moreso the Honourable Minister. 

As Council we abhor the violent behaviour as means to an end. We condemn in strong terms the big brother mentality, we don't at all subscribe to unjust and unnatural methods of suppressing fair and equal hearing opportunities to either of the disputing parties. 

No amount of political clout should ever prevail over purely Employer and Employee issues. We say stop threatening and putting the lives of both Councilors and employees at security risk for political and brotherly expedience. Give chance to normal labour proceedings and practices. 

Word has it that the participants to Friday's deliberate mayhem were allegedly paid a measly US2. 00 which saw the much anticipated huge turn out dwindling to numbers that are not worth to be labled as a fair representation and composition of Rusape residents and ratepayers Associations. 

In conclusion we want to make it known that the Friday shenanigans were reported to the police, and its our fervent hope that the law would take its course and justice will in due course prevail.