Epworth Member of Parliament Tayedzwa Mutana is facing serious allegations of misusing Constituency Development Funds (CDF) and inflating borehole drilling costs, raising new concerns about corruption and poor accountability in local development projects.
According to reports, several boreholes drilled under Mutana’s supervision are dry and non-functional, despite significant funds being allocated for water supply initiatives meant to ease the suburb’s chronic shortages.
A ZANU-PF Harare provincial member, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that only a handful of boreholes in the constituency are actually producing water, while residents continue to queue for hours at the few that work.
“Most of the boreholes drilled in his constituency are dry, and he is evasive whenever we confront him about how he utilised the CDF allocation. Only a few boreholes have water, and people are fighting daily, with long queues being a routine for Epworth residents,” said the party official.
The official further alleged that Mutana has shifted his focus away from essential infrastructure development, such as roads and drainage systems, and instead prioritised building lodges and private projects.
“He is too busy monitoring his personal projects using CDF allocations while Epworth residents live in constant thirst. We confronted him about the quotations and receipts from contractors, but he produced nothing,” the source added.
These allegations echo long-standing concerns about how CDF projects are managed across Zimbabwe. Analysts have often warned that weak monitoring, poor contract management, and limited community involvement have created loopholes that allow misuse of public funds.
Experts also note that inflating prices for basic community projects, such as borehole drilling, diverts vital resources from other priority areas like road repairs, sanitation, and electricity provision. They warn that the lack of strong oversight and enforcement mechanisms continues to result in abandoned projects and financial losses at the expense of local residents.
The alleged mismanagement in Epworth highlights broader weaknesses in the governance of the CDF programme, which critics say has become vulnerable to corruption, political interference, and abuse of public trust.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Honourable Tayedzwa Mutana were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls or text messages.
Meanwhile, Epworth residents continue to suffer from acute water shortages, queuing daily at the few functional boreholes — a stark reminder of how misused development funds directly impact ordinary citizens struggling for basic services.
