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Temba Dube Senior Reporter
FORMER Bulawayo councillors will not get hefty exit packages, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development, Dr Ignatius Chombo, said yesterday. The councillors had reportedly requested to be given laptops, while the former Mayor Mr Thaba Moyo and his Deputy Mr Amen Mpofu, had been eyeing the mayoral vehicles that they had been using during their tenure.
The former councillors were supposed to meet the Minister in Bulawayo yesterday but the meeting was postponed to today due to Dr Chombo’s busy schedule.
However, in an interview, Dr Chombo said he would not grant anyone an exit package.
“They requested a meeting with me. If that is what they want to talk about, the answer is no. These people are in public office and they should not expect to enrich themselves at the ratepayers’ expense. As councillors, they had the privilege of buying residential stands at discounted prices. I think that should be enough,” said Dr Chombo.
“Besides, I have not seen the letter that they supposedly sent me requesting the packages. Being a councillor is all about sacrifice and service to improve the lives of fellow residents, it is not a passport to riches.”
Contacted for comment, former Deputy Mayor, Mr Amen Mpofu said he would give a full comment after meeting Dr Chombo.
“I cannot say much at the moment. Dr Chombo promised us that he would do something positive for us. As far as I know, he is a man who keeps his promises. I am optimistic that something good will come out of the meeting. Unfortunately, I heard it has been cancelled and will be held tomorrow. However, I feel the Mayor should get the vehicle because it has always been council tradition,” said Mr Mpofu.
Mr Mpofu requested the Mazda BT50 twin cab that he was using in office.
Mr Moyo reportedly asked for the Mayoral luxury Chrysler 2.0l CRO Dodge Journey that he was also using on official council business.
The Dodge was bought under controversial circumstances in 2010.
Council records reportedly show it cost $65 000, a price that was said to be up to $30 000 more than the normal price.
The rest of the councillors, including the Mayor, reportedly benefited from residential stands that they were allowed by Government to buy at a 35 percent discount.
Already there is bickering among the outgoing councillors over the exit packages.
A number have complained that Mr Moyo was getting the best deal.
“We were all councillors, including the Mayor. When he was in office, he used to go on numerous all expense paid trips with allowances of up to $500. Now he gets the expensive car and the rest of us are likely to get just laptops. This is unfair,” a councillor is on record saying.
The councillor said the Dodge was bought for the Mayor a few months before a Mazda BT50 vehicle had been bought for him.
The Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni, who has been tasked with running the local authority following the dissolution of council, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
At the beginning of the year, councillors fiercely resisted moves by council officials to award themselves hefty exit packages that included getting either residential, industrial or commercial stands, up to three months salary, having their vehicle loans written off and being exempt from paying rates and water charges.
The outgoing Gweru Mayor, Mr Tedious Chimombe, was given a Toyota Prado and a residential stand in Athlone low-density suburb as his exit package.
Mr Chimombe also received two months allowance for every year served.
During his term in office, he also received a big residential stand in Mkoba Village 12.
Online Reporter