THE Affirmative Action Group (AAG) Matabeleland Chapter has approached the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) expressing displeasure on the delays by the High Court to hear its case against the Bulawayo City Council.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
A fortnight ago, the AAG filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court seeking to compel the government to suspend all councillors, and appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged tender irregularities at the local authority.
In a two-page letter addressed to JSC chairperson, Justice Rita Makarau and copied to Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, judge president Justice George Chiweshe, senior judges Justices Lawrence Kamocha and Maxwell Takuva, the AAG claimed its case was not being afforded the urgency it deserved.
The group also said there were fears the application would not receive a fair hearing since the Bulawayo City Council had interfered with the process by allegedly sending correspondence to the judge who was supposed to deal with the matter.
“A shocking development has occurred. A third party, Bulawayo City Council, has written a letter, which has been forwarded to Justice Takuva concerning the matter, which is still being considered by the same judge,” reads part of the letter.
AAG said, in the letter written by Promise Ncube of Coughlan Welsh, the local authority claimed if an order was granted in AAG’s favour, it would be prejudicial to the country’s interests.
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“However, they failed to mention what interests those are,” AAG said.
AAG said it would be prudent to highlight the fact that Coughlan & Welsh Legal Practitioners had enjoyed a seemingly long-standing relationship with the council through perpetually renewing service contracts amounting to over $10 000 without going to tender.
“This contract has spanned over 15 years (and) the conditions of this renewal are unclear.
“In our view, we feel that justice is being compromised, especially considering that the issue at hand involves corruption, collusion and nepotism on tenders’ worth over $8 million,” AAG said.
“Considering the length of time the judge has taken to consider our matter and the letters being written to him by third-parties, we doubt if we will be afforded justice.”
Recently, the group gave Bulawayo mayor Martin Moyo two 72-hour ultimatums to respond to reports of alleged widespread corruption involving his council or face unspecified action.
The group said it was irked by reports that contracts with a combined value of about $8,7 million were retendered or extended after winning companies either disappeared or failed to complete projects.
It was alledged that defaulting companies were working in cahoots with senior council officials who played both tender adjudication and supervisory roles, creating fertile ground for manipulation in the bidding process.
