Kwekwe residents have accused their city fathers of
pursuing a lavish life at the expense of service delivery after the local
authority passed a resolution to purchase off-road vehicles for Mayor
Councillor Angeline Kasipo and two other directors.
This was after council recently announced that it had set
aside about $450 000 for the purchase of three top- of-the-range vehicles for
Cllr Kasipo and recently appointed directors.
The cash-strapped council recently floated a tender for the
supply of a Toyota Fortuner, double cab truck and a vehicle with an aerial
platform.
Residents, in different interviews, lambasted the local
authority for prioritising their lavish lives at the expense of service
delivery.
“Kwekwe has become a pothole and hump city, I want the new
mayor to tell us about the 65 kilometres of road network that were said to be
under rehabilitation,” said Mr Chrispen Phiri. “Instead, she thinks of her new
car. We want better roads and constant water supply, it shows that do not care
about us.”
Another resident, Mr Charles Makoni, said the residents’
association should summon the minister over the matter.
“I think we have a residents’ association in the city, they
should play their part and consult the minister over this matter,” he said.
“We cannot have such madness when sewage is said to be
flowing into water bodies and one is only thinking of buying a car for
herself.”
Kwekwe Residents and Ratepayers Association (KKRA)
chairperson Mr Alex Homela said the local authority should prioritise issues
that benefit the ratepayers.
“If the ratepayers seem to be complaining, then why not
stop the madness and reflect?” he said.
“We are not happy at all with the money they intend to
channel towards cars. We feel betrayed by such actions.
“They should do what the residents want since they are
custodians of ratepayers’ money. After all, the budget did not get the
blessings of the ratepayers.”
During a recent full council meeting, Acting Town Clerk Dr
Lucia Mnkandla defended the decision by council, saying vehicles were part of
service delivery.
“Vehicles are part of service delivery since directors need
to be mobile,” he said. “If a meeting is called in Harare or any other place at
any time, a director should not have a reason for not attending the meeting.”
Cllr Kasipo is using her personal vehicle to conduct
council business. The previous mayor turned down an official vehicle. Herald
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