Enhanced security to curb forex leakages at revenue halls

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC)’s employees manning revenue collection points will now be monitored via Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in a move meant to curb  foreign currency leakages and dealings by illegal money changers inside the revenue halls.

A council confidential report confirmed that council has resolved to enhance security to ensure they curb foreign currency leakages.

“The internal controls and supervision (will) be enhanced to curb forex leakages. Staff manning revenue offices will be required to put away from their cubicles; bags, cash, cards and mobile phones whenever operating receipting points. CCTV coverage is expanded to all revenue collection offices and an official  will be designated to monitor activities on CCTV and report or flag anomalies for action,” reads the report.

 

The move follows one where in January the local authority was forced to withdraw a notice stating that only bank debit cards bearing the name of the owner of the property will be accepted for rates payment which was meant to control the number of illegal money changers at its revenue halls.

The move comes at a time when the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion had to intervene and block a resolution where councillors had directed that residents would now be required to pay 80 percent of their rates in foreign currency, with treasury saying the move was illegal. The councillors had argued that the local authority was operating in a dollarised economy.

“Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo highlighted that council was operating in a dollarised economy. In order for council to provide effective service delivery and retain its work force which was poorly renumerated, there was need to adopt the proposed 80 percent. rounding up debate, the deputy mayor, Clr Edwin Ndlovu stated that the policy had to be applied to revenue collection as a whole not only to debt collection. He seconded the 80:20 ratio, noting that council could not effectively carry out its mandate of adequate and efficient service delivery if it continued collecting revenue in local currency,” reads a report detailing the councillors’ sentiments on the issue.