KWEKWE residents are up in arms with the local authority accusing the council of misplaced priorities after it purchased top of the range vehicles for its top management.
The cash-strapped Kwekwe City Council took delivery of four Toyota Hilux GD-6 vehicles meant for its four directors with two more Toyota Fortuners earmarked to be purchased for the town clerk and the mayor.
Two more Toyota GD-6 vehicles will also be bought upon the appointment of a substantive director of health and a chamber secretary.
Although the value of the vehicles could not be ascertained, online research shows that a 2018 Toyota GD-6 model is valued at US$52 000 in Zimbabwe.
Prior to the latest development, the directors were using Mazda BT50 vehicles which they now own after council sold the cars at book value.
During a 2023 budget consultation with ward budget committees last Friday, residents blamed council for misplaced priorities.
Mr Nkosilathi Moyo accused council of failure to notify residents of the purchase of the vehicles during the meeting.
“We are not saying you should not have purchased the cars, but as residents we are not aware that you purchased the vehicles. During this meeting, you did not even mention council’s 2022 achievements,” he said.
“I think this is why residents are so angry yet you are saying you used ratepayers’ money to buy the vehicles.”
Mr Tuesday Mlambo form Ward 8 blamed the local authority for misplacing priorities.
“You are claiming that you do not have money for service delivery yet you have money to spend on top-of- the-range vehicles. Why didn’t you use that money to improve service delivery?” quizzed Mlambo.
Another resident Mr Kuda Gwamuri also weighed in: “While your workers’ welfare is important, we are saying it’s also important to prioritise service delivery. We cannot afford luxury cars when we are faced with shortage of drugs in our council clinics.”
Mr Gwamuri said council is failing to address major challenges facing the city such as the water reticulation networks.
“Council should have opted for cheaper vehicles to save funds for priority areas because public service is about service, not wealth accumulation,” he said.
Acting chamber secretary, Mr Athanas Chidzurira defended council’s position, saying the purchase of vehicles was provided for in the directors’ contracts.
“What I can tell you is that all this was done above board as it is enshrined in the directors’ contracts. We did everything accordingly in consultation with our councillors and the process went up to the minister for approval,” he said.
“This is something we can’t change since it is in black and white that they should get service vehicles after such a period of time.”
The chairperson of the finance committee Councillor Silas Mukaro said Kwekwe used ratepayers’ funds to purchase the vehicles.
“The money used to purchase the vehicles is ratepayers’ money. And it was done accordingly,” he said.
In her budget presentation, finance director Mrs Rejoice Dandira said the local authority is facing financial challenges, a situation making it difficult for council to render services.
“We have a serious problem as residents are not paying their bills and this impacts negatively in terms of service delivery. For example during the month of September, there was a 27 percent collection efficiency and this makes it tough for us to render proper services delivery given the circumstances,” she said.
Mrs Dandira said residents owe Kwekwe City Council a total of $1,5 billion in arrears while the local authority owes its creditors about $524 million.
“We are struggling to pay our service providers since the ratepayers are not owning up. ZETDC have been threatening to switch us off for not paying what we owe, and this has become a serious challenge for us,” she said.
Kwekwe is in the process of carrying out 2023 budget consultations with the hope of raising tariffs by more than 40 percent. – The Chronicle
