By Correspondent
The Minister of Local Government July Moyo has issued a directive reversing the Harare City Council resolution of June 2 which sought to scrutinise the Pomona deal.
Council had passed a resolution that, “the Town Clerk withdraw the affidavits filed by council with the court opposing the court case by residents challenging the Pomona Waste Energy Project”.
The affidavits would bolster the position of Geogenix BV to take over Pomona and implement the US$344 million agreement which many have complained about.
However, Minister Moyo has come out against the resolution by reversing it.
In his letter to the City authorities he said the resolution is “in bad faith and meant to subvert the process of the court, and is therefore not in the public interest”.
“Please be advised that I have been availed by your Chamber Secretary the minutes of the meeting held by your council on June 2 2022.
“A number of resolutions were made at that meeting, perhaps the most notable of which was the resolution to investigate the circumstances under which the Pomona Waste of Energy Project contract with Geogenix BV was negotiated, approved and signed by Council.
Moyo said in his view the resolution unnecessarily interferes with the matter which is already sub judice.
“The resolution is also, in my view, premature to the extent that the investigation to be carried out is not yet complete.
“There is also no suggestion in the resolution that, in making and filing the affidavit with the court, the Acting Town Clerk was either not authorised or competent to make it or that perjured himself in the process,” he said.
Due to that, Moyo said the resolution was made with a view to subverting the process of the court and is therefore in very bad faith and hence cannot be allowed.
Council has since been advised to approach the court directly to explain why it may wish to alter or withdraw its defence.
Shady Deal
The controversial deal between Netherlands-based Geogenix BV and Harare City Council (HCC) will run for 30 years, with the company set to pocket over US$240 million.
The deal has caused a public outcry with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association also petitioning the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to probe the agreement.
The deal was approved by MDC-T councilors at a time the main opposition’s CCC councilors had been recalled.
However the MDC-T spokesperson Chengetai Guta has defended their party saying government had taken over power at council.
“What the people of Zimbabwe must understand is that there is a usurpation of authority that is supposed to be entitled to office bearers with regards to local government”.
“When you look at the Pomona deal, our councillors actually had a resolution and put forward arguments that were disagreeing with the deal but that was not taken heed off,” Guta said.
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