Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
CASH-STRAPPED Bulawayo City Council (BCC) stands to lose a cremator worth US$100 000 that was impounded by South African Revenue Services (Sars) nearly three years ago if the local authority does not pay R1 million — about US$71 000 — accumulated storage fees.
Debtors owe BCC $1,6 billion while the local authority owes creditors just above $1 billion.
Residents have since slammed the local authority for sleeping on duty saying this is an unnecessary expense that would be extended to residents.
The city in 2017 engaged a private contractor in the procurement of a cremator but machinery has not been delivered owing to legal issues between the private contractor and council.
The cremator was purchased in Japan in 2017 but was confiscated in South Africa en-route to the country.
BCC has been urging residents to take up cremation as it is running out of burial space.
In the latest council report, Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the local authority will lose R1 million to deliver the cremator.
“The town clerk reported (2nd June, 2021) that council (6th September 2017) had resolved that council had taken over the contract for procurement and delivery of a cremator which had been stuck at Durban due to importation challenges,” said Mr Dube.
“The matter had been pending in court in order to discharge the rule nisi. The rule nisi had since been discharged after a very long time and the cremator had accumulated a huge storage bill. SARS had since written to council and advised that the storage charges were now R1 078 532 and it would continue to accrue if we take long to settle the bill.”
The report notes that council management is left with two options, firstly to either pay the storage cost and have the cremator released as soon as possible or to abandon and lose both the cremator and the deposit paid of $97 120 to mitigate losses.
“Management had considered the matter and was recommending option one as it would mitigate our loss. Authority was hereby sought to settle the bill in order for the cremator to be released without further delay. The matter was considered and the acting chamber secretary advised that Council should consider option 1 in order to mitigate its losses,” reads the report.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) social and economic commentator Mr Ntokozo Tshuma said this case has exposed lack of astute leadership in the local authority.
Mr Tshuma said sadly rate payers who are struggling to pay bills will be forced to pay for the council’s inadequacies.
“The local authority in my opinion should have cut out the middle-man and procured the equipment directly. This transaction has created investment inefficiencies in the local authority. One gets to wonder why we have economic development officers, senior managers, heads of procurement and financial managers when these transactions were being made but they never made any feasibility studies on such cases,” said Mr Tshuma.
He said it was not surprising that council previously lost US$100 000 to briefcase companies through the issue of engaging tender men where they could have directly procured equipment.
“So, who is going to pay that R1 million? It’s the rate payers! The inefficiencies of the local authority are now going to be borne by the residents. It is rather unfair for the local authority to continue with this laxity and absenteeism in terms of decision making. And also, the inherent cost that they will have to bear by going through a middle-man. The effects and impact are now affecting the rate payer and the debt owed by residents will balloon because whatever they have incurred to try and bring the machinery here, will be passed on to the residents,” he said.
Bulawayo United Residents’ Association chairman Mr Winos Dube said it was disheartening that the council would persistently incur costs due to shoddy planning and engaging of middle-man.
“Is it worth it to pay the R1 million and we ask ourselves why did the council have to engage middlemen? Were there no better measures that they could have followed to make sure this equipment came into the country at all? These are questions that we ask ourselves because we are not quite informed about these happenings and nobody is telling us as ratepayers that there is something of this nature where the council invested so much money and in turn the council is now losing so much money in storage fees,” said Mr Dube.
He said someone at council should be held responsible for dereliction of duty.
“It’s very unfortunate and disappointing that we continue to have these systems happening now and again. We ask ourselves who in council allows that kind of a scenario and if ever that person is found they have to answer,” he said. — @nqotshili
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