Grace-and-Favour: Binga RDC builds $200k lakeside mansion for CEO despite government ban

BINGA — In a district where hunger drives thousands of children out of school and most households lack basic sanitation, a luxury four-bedroom house with a jacuzzi is nearing completion on the shores of Lake Kariba, built at public expense for the long-serving chief executive of one of Zimbabwe’s poorest local authorities. An investigation by CITE reveals that Binga Rural District Council (RDC) has spent close to US$200 000 constructing a “grace-and-favour” home for its chief executive officer, Joshua Muzamba, despite a standing government directive prohibiting local authorities from building personal residences for senior officials. The development has ignited questions about governance, accountability and political protection in a district consistently ranked among Zimbabwe’s poorest, and where residents say public resources are routinely diverted from desperately needed services.

The house sits on a two-acre stand overlooking Lake Kariba, in an exclusive peninsula neighbourhood about six kilometres from Binga town, surrounded by water on two sides. Council records and sources familiar with the project say the stand, valued at over US$40 000, was allocated to Muzamba free of charge. The property includes four bedrooms – three of them ensuite – a jacuzzi and two garages.

The project’s cost and scale contrast sharply with living conditions in the district. Official statistics paint a grim picture: ZimStat data shows that 73 percent of households in Binga lack toilets, while many communities travel long distances for schools and healthcare facilities amid largely impassable roads. Education ministry figures indicate that in 2022 alone, 6 671 pupils dropped out of school, while more than 13 000 children were irregular attendees due to hunger.

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Yet despite chronic underdevelopment, council funds have been channelled into the high-end residence. Muzamba and the council did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A ministry of local government circular issued on October 6, 2014 (Circular CX154) explicitly forbids local authorities from allocating institutional properties to employees, mayors or council chairpersons. The ministry’s spokesperson Gabriel Masvora confirmed the directive remains in force.

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