The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) rebuff the claims by ZINARA that  it has not received correspondence from CHRA requesting release of  figures of the disbursed funds to the City of Harare and Chitungwiza Municipality .

The deceitful response by ZINARA Spokesperson Tendai Mugabe to Newsday “that they had not received a letter from CHRA” is reflective of how the institution conducts its business and further exposes the government of Zimbabwe on the nature of parastatals we have in the country.

CHRA has a stamped copy indicating that the parastatal received the letter and the silence on the part of ZINARA indicates that they are not willing to release the figures for reasons better known to the institution.

Failure by ZINARA to respond to the 8th of February 2021 CHRA and PAZ letter is a clear and blatant violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Public administration for state controlled entities is governed by democratic values and section 194(1) (k) states “that transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information” and the response by ZINARA falls far short in compliance to this provision.

We reiterate that our request for the information of the figures of disbursed funds to the City of Harare and Chitungwiza municipality by ZINARA is protected and guaranteed by Section 62 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe on the right to access information.

To this end CHRA has engaged its legal representatives to commence legal action on the failure by ZINARA to release the public information.

We are aware that any form of centralized governance system in the management of vehicle licensing fees is not responsive to local needs and open room for grand corruption as witnessed at ZINARA since its inception.

Local government is the closest government to the people hence we call upon the government of Zimbabwe to reconsider its decision by  retaining the vehicle licensing mandate to local authorities in line with Chapter 14 of the Constitution on devolution.