MUTARE– A Zanu PF Ward 3 Councilor for Mutare Rural District Council, Moses Mujaji has angered Arda Transau villagers after converting a structure meant for a community clinic to a beer hall, 263Chat has learnt.
The affected community through Arda Transau Relocation Development Trust (ARDT) yesterday handed a petition to the Mutare District Development Coordinator, Wilson Boore demanding corrective action over Mujaji’s unscrupulous actions.
The clinic, constructed by Marange Resources and handed over to Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for community use as a health centre is a stone throw away from a local primary school.
ATRDT said local families are walking more than 11km to access health care, questioning whether proper procedures were followed in the transfer of the property from a clinic to a revelers den.
“We need a satellite clinic at Wellington Primary School at the Transaal clinic, because people are walking for eleven kilometers to get to the nearest Transaal clinic. As a community we are concerned over this development,” said ATDRT Secretary Tawanda Mufute.
“We are greatly concerned with the misuse of houses left by mining companies which are now in the custody of ZCDC by duty Bearer in Arda Transau.
“Arda Transau Relocation Development Trust brought the issue of a house which Marange Resources wanted to use as a clinic to provide health services to the relocated communities. The facility was left after diamond mining companies were instructed to stop mining by the then President of the Republic of Zimbabwe the Late RG Mugabe.
“Now that the councilor of our ward 3 had turned the house Into a Bottle Store which is less 200metres from Wellington Primary School. The resident trust wishes to know what procedures had been made to convert this facility to a bottle store,” reads part of the petition.
The petition also raised concerns over lack of access to clean water, which has resulted in the deaths of two minors, Jane Chikaskia aged 7 and Tadiwanashe Ranzo aged 9 drowned in Odzi River fetching water.
Villagers lashed at ZCDC for failing to live up to a promise it made during the Diamond Security Indabas where the state entity pledged to drill boreholes in this area but only 2 boreholes had been install out of 10 boreholes promised.
