adminMASVINGO City Council has come under fire for paying lip service to a three-year-old $3,5 million workers’ salary stand-off which has seen the attachment of all movable properties by the Deputy Sheriff.
In 2012 Council workers won an arbitration award of $3,5 million at the Labour Court for outstanding salary increments backdated to 2008 which have accumulated to more than $5 million now.
This saw workers being granted permission to attach all Council’s movable property comprising Mayor’s official Mercedes Benz and refuse collection trucks, among other vehicles that are now gathering dust parked at the Deputy Sheriff’s office.
Masvingo Urban Ratepayers and Residents Association (Murra) co-ordinator, Mr Anoziva Muguti, told Sunday News that residents were appalled by the level of ignorance that Council was demonstrating when most prized assets were let to deteriorate due to wear and tear when there were many avenues to address the stand-off.
He said Murra was shocked by the Council’s conduct of demanding more money from the already overburdened residents when they were failing to address outstanding issues with workers, a move that could help the local authority in meeting some of its financial obligations.
“On behalf of residents we have been taken aback by the lack of political will by Council to address the salary issue. What is needed is a dialogue between concerned parties so that service delivery is not sacrificed. Imagine the stand-off is now three years old with no solution in sight,” said Mr Muguti.
Mr Muguti said it was incumbent on the local authority to find a lasting solution to the salary issue given the costs involved in hiring equipment to use for the day’s operations.
“Last time when we checked it cost about $12 000 a week to hire cars for use from CMED and per month. The amount ranged between $45 000 to about $50 000. The most painful thing is that it is ratepayers who are made to pay, bearing the brunt of Council’s inefficiency yet there are better ways of resolving the impasse ahead of being adamant,” he said.
Masvingo Residents Trust (MRT) programme manager, Mr Prosper Tiringindi, called for the resignation of some office bearers for their involvement in poor service delivery as a result of the attachment of Council property.
“We should demand the resignation of some officers because they have failed to address this issue for long. As it is we have a depleted Council fleet following the attachment of vehicles and the local authority can no longer provide better services to its residents as important vehicles like refuse collection vehicles are gathering dust at the Deputy Sheriff premises at our expense. We therefore call upon Council to act on this issue as a matter of urgency for residents not to suffer.
“They have introduced levies in their budget in order to cover up for their ineptitude as the levies will cushion the local authority. We should not ascribe to such behaviour where residents are taken for a ride and milked at the same time,” Mr Tiringindi said.
Contacted for comment, the Mayor, Councillor Hubert Fidze, said they also inherited the problem and that they could not be wholly held accountable for the “mess” but said they were seized with the standoff as new City Fathers.
“As you are aware we inherited this challenge from the previous Council led by Alderman Femius Chakabuda. We cannot be held accountable for everything. However, we are working on the problem and also wish a solution will come in the near future. The main challenge we have is that the issue is at the Courts and we cannot push around the judiciary to speed the process.
“There were some blunders that were made that if the issue was handled properly, we could not be where we are now but it is the new Council who should resolve the impasse without shifting the blame to anyone. The residents look to us for salvation, hence it is our duty to bring this issue to finality,” said Clr Fidze.
Online Reporter