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MASVINGO City Council has splashed nearly $500,000 on latest vehicles for its top managers who have been using personal transport to carry out council business after the city’s entire fleet was attached by the Messenger of Court in December 2012.
Council was initially hiring vehicles for its senior managers at a cost of $40,000 monthly before ordering them to use their own vehicles with the city paying them $1 per every kilometre travelled.
This was after the entire council fleet of more than 60 top of the range vehicles and refuse trucks were attached by the Messenger of Court after workers took the city to court demanding $3,5 million in salary arrears dating back to 2009. The matter is still pending before the High Court and the fleet has been gathering dust at the Messenger of Court premises in the city for the past three years.
Masvingo town clerk Adolph Gusha last Wednesday defended the decision to splash money on new top of the range Mazda BT vehicles for senior managers saying it was part of their conditions of service.
Gusha said council wanted to retain its skilled senior managers by offering them perks similar to what other local authorities were paying. “The only way we can retain our experienced senior managers is to offer them perks they would get at any other local authority. Our managers can only do their work well if they’re satisfied with their conditions of service,’’ he said.
“We’ve already paid for the new vehicles and they’ll be delivered soon. The attached vehicles which they were using belonged to council but they will keep the new ones after using them for five years.”
He said the new vehicles were bought using council resources. However, Masvingo Residents’ Trust co-ordinator Prosper Tiringindi rapped council for misplaced priorities by buying vehicles for senior managers when service delivery was on the verge of collapse.
He said council was supposed to first buy refuse trucks and road-making equipment to remove growing mounds of garbage in the suburbs and rehabilitate the city’s dilapidated road network.
Bongani Ndlovu