Attached Masvingo property to be sold

This comes in the wake of an advertisement in the local media by the Deputy Sheriff indicating that the property would go under the hammer on 16 January.

The workers late last year got a High Court green light to auction council property to settle a $3,5 million debt in unpaid salary arrears.

This was after the municipality’s urgent chamber application to block the auction was dismissed by the High Court.

Harare High Court judge, Justice Andrew Mutema, ruled that the mere fact that the council pleaded hardship and fears for the collapse of service delivery did not constitute the urgency contemplated by the High Court Rules in applications of that nature.

More property was taken by the Messenger of Court this week and it includes the Mayor’s official vehicle, a Mercedes Benz E240, refuse trucks and kombis, among new property that was taken by the Deputy Sheriff this week in addition to the other properties attached last year.

The council last year had all its movable property attached by the Deputy Sheriff over workers’ $3,5 million in unpaid salary increments.

The workers recently won an arbitration award of a 160 percent salary increment backdated to 2009, but the local authority has been dragging its feet in implementing the ruling, which was also registered with the High Court.

Workers have refused to budge on their position and are pressing for the payment of their money, which could have accumulated into more than the amount awarded by the courts.

According to records from the Deputy Sheriff, auctioning of the attached council property would be done on 16 January.

In an interview, Mayor Alderman Femius Chakabuda dismissed the advertisement arguing that the property would only be disposed of after the outcome of their second urgent chamber application to stop the sale.

“We are not worried with the advertisement because our case is still at the High Court. However, we cannot tell the Deputy Sheriff to stop advertising because they are simply doing their job and we do not have a case with them, but the workers, who are the plaintiffs in this case.

“Some have urged us to negotiate with them, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do now unless our appeal at the High Court is heard and a verdict is passed,” said Ald Chakabuda.

He said he was optimistic that the local authority would not collapse due to the problem at hand.