ALDERMEN in Bulawayo have demanded that the Bulawayo City
Council pays them an allowance as part of their pension benefits and further
called on the local authority to give them 50 percent rebate on rates and
rentals, it has been learnt.
According to the Urban Councils Act an alderman is a
councillor who would have served the local authority for eight years for mayors
and 10 years for councillors.
In the latest development, according to a council
confidential report, the aldermen through their chairperson, Ald Phinias Ndlovu
have written to the local authority demanding that they get a monthly pension
payout of 50 percent of sitting councillors’ allowances, among a cocktail of
other demands.
An ordinary councillor is getting an allowance of $780
monthly. However, this will be against a Government provision that stipulates
that councillors are not liable to a pension or golden handshake once they
leave office.
“I wish to submit our request as follows; allowance
continuation (pension) of 50 percent, 50 percent relief on rates and water,
free access at municipal clinics, half spouse support for funeral similar to
aldermen, free parking discs and we also request that council comes up with
code on how to work,” reads the letter from Ald Ndlovu.
The request was however, turned down by the local
authority’s executive leadership who argued that it was against council and
Government policy and was also going to set a wrong precedent among former
councillors, who would start demanding similar benefits.
The directors, however, supported the issuance of free
parking discs depending on the number of the aldermen.
“The facility on parking discs exists for serving members,
depending on the numbers, the facility can be extended to the aldermen.
Departments of Health and Finance are better placed to comment,” noted the
acting Director of Human Capital, Mr Makhosi Tshalebwa. Sunday News
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