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THE Kwekwe City Council has been operating without a legal advisor for years, a situation that has resulted in the local authority bungling in some of its decision-making and putting it at risk of being sued by all and sundry, a recent council review committee meeting has established.
Chairperson of the review committee Mr Shangwa Mavesere said there was need for the local authority to enlist the services of a legal officer so that they make the right decisions at law.
“In our review meeting, we realised that while some processes were done and that some decisions were made after full council consultations, there was lack of legal guidance in some of the decisions and resolutions passed.
“There is therefore an urgent need for the local authority to hire the services of a legal officer who will offer all the legal expertise in line with the council regulations and the Urban Councils Act,” said Mr Mavesera.
Mr Mavesere said the council was exposing itself to lawsuits by coming up with resolutions that werelikely to be at odds with the Urban Councils Act.
“They can be sued by anyone for failing to align a simple resolution with the dictates of the law that govern the operations of councils.
He said the committee also found out that most its office bearers were carrying out their duties in an acting capacity highlighting the need for council to hire personnel on a substantive basis.
Kwekwe city, which needs a staff complement of 1 206, currently has a total of 630 workers.
“While the city is commended for being up to date in terms of salaries, the council is also recommended to work on replacing workers.
“ If the number of workers has dropped by more than 50 percent and nothing is being done to fill the gaps, this might compromise service delivery in the end,” said Mr Mavesera.
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