adminGeorge Maponga in Masvingo
About 50 Masvingo City Council vehicles worth US$300 000 attached two years ago and parked at the Messenger of Court premises are now feared to be write-offs owing to neglect.
The cars, which include a mayoral Mercedes-Benz, were attached by the Messenger of Court in December 2012 following a US$3,5 million suit pitting the city council against its workers over salaries.
The workers dragged council to court after it failed to effect a salary increment backdated to December 2009.
It has since emerged that the Masvingo City Council’s vehicles have depreciated beyond repair at the Messenger of Court premises and the Masvingo industrial area where they are being kept.
The vehicles have not been running for more than a year while tyres and batteries need replacement, said a source. Most of the vehicles would also need a fresh coat of paint before they are back on the road.
A Masvingo councillor who preferred not to be named said the city council no longer had the vehicles in its plans.
“As council, we have already resolved to auction all the cars if we manage to win our court case against the workers because it is now more expensive to repair the cars and bring them back on the road compared to buying new ones,” said the councillor.
“Some of the vehicles have depreciated beyond repair.’’
Town Clerk Mr Adolph Gusha said they had made a provision for the vehicles to be inspected on a regular basis.
“We gave an instruction to our workshop foreman to make sure that every two weeks the attached vehicles are inspected so that they remain in good shape,” he said. “That is all I can say.’’
But officials at the Messenger of Court premises said council employees only inspected the vehicles during the first days they were brought there.
Masvingo city has been operating with a skeletal vehicle fleet after almost all its movable assets, including the vehicles, were attached by the courts.
Online Reporter