Businessman and Chivi Rural District Council Chairperson, Killer Zivhu, says he has no beef with Norton Member of Parliament, Temba Mliswa, but instead wants the law maker to assist him recover $1.5 million which his private property development company, meant for residents lost to a local bank.
Zivhu who leads the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Housing Association (ZAHA) which is developing close to 1000 housing stands in Norton, lost $1.5 million to the now defunct Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister, Obert Mpofu’s Allied Bank.
ZAHA had appointed Allied Bank to administer the development of Zivhu’s part of Norton’s Galloway area.
This development according to Zivhu, has slowed down the rate of development of 780 residential stands which have since been occupied by desperate home seekers.
Last week aggrieved Galloway residents approached their local member of parliament, Temba Mliswa, and asked him to intervene in the “lack” of progress in not only the development but also “reluctance” by Zivhu to give “us” title deeds.
Mliswa said he was going to fight for the suspension of land development permits for private land developers including Zivhu’s ZAHA.
In an interview Tuesday, Chivi RDC chairperson, Killer Zivhu said he was interested in hearing Mliswa talking about how “we can recover” residents’ money from Allied Bank.
“As a member of parliament with the zeal of seeing development happening in his area, this is what we are expecting him to be taking government to task on. On our part we have tried to recover the money through the courts and were granted the order to attach Allied Bank’s properties but only to discover that the bank had nothing even a computer or a desk .All the properties we found were registered in other names,” said Zivhu.
“If we manage to recover that money surely there is nothing that can stop us from fast tracking development which in anyway has been going on but not at the rate we would like it to be moving at,” he said.
Zivhu said Norton Town Council had nothing to do with his land whose permit he claimed inherited in 1998, from the former owners of Galloway, whom “we” bought the private land from.
He also said his company was ready to give title deeds to anyone who would have completed paying for the land in accordance to “our agreed contacts”.
“Title deeds will be given to individuals who would have completed payment of their properties not and you cannot demand for one when you have not yet fully paid for the properties and most of those people (occupants of 375 stands) you hear complaining have not been paying for three years now,” said Zivhu.
Mliswa since his election to represent Norton in October last year, has been challenging Norton Town Council to be transparent in their issuance of land development permits to private land developers.
The former Zanu PF Mashonaland west provincial chairperson has also approached Local Government Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, to whip Norton Town Council into line.
Norton Town Council officials have reacted to Mliswa’s demands by boycotting the legislator’s community meetings which he would have invited them.
As a way of forcing the local authority to listen to their concerns Norton residents through their representative body Norton Residents Trust, have organized a demonstration against the town fathers.
They have invited Minister Kasukuwere to address them when they gather at the Norton Town Council offices on Monday next week.
