adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
CASH-STRAPPED Gweru City Council has retained a car loan scheme for senior staff members, a move likely to be resisted by employees who are unpaid in about six months. To that end, the local authority is set to spend $80,000 on vehicles for two assistant heads of department. According to the latest council minutes the town clerk, Daniel Matawu, has been authorised to disburse loans to a maximum of $40,000 each to two assistant heads of department payable over a period of five years for the purchase of motor vehicles.
The development comes after Mannford Gambiza and Gibson Chingwadza, the assistant director of housing and community services and the acting chamber secretary respectively applied for car loans recently.
Matawu, the minutes note, confirmed receiving an application letter from Gambiza and Chingwadza for the car loans.
“It will be recalled that the finance and manpower committee at its meeting held on September 4 recommended and it was subsequently resolved by council as follows: that the town clerk be authorised to disburse loans to a maximum of $40,000 to assistant heads of departments payable over a period of five years for the purchase of a vehicle,” reads the council minutes.
“The above council decision was also revisited by the Audit Committee at its meeting held on August 18, 2014, where it was generally agreed that the policy pertaining to car loans for senior staff members should be retained since there were some who have not yet benefited from the car loan scheme,” read the minutes.
The minutes also note that council had been borrowing funds from the estates account to give loans for vehicle purchases to the senior staff members.
“It was resolved that a revolving fund be used for the purchase of vehicles for Gambiza and Chingwadza,” read the minutes.
Online Reporter