Embattled Kwekwe city treasurer Albert Zingwe is on his way out of local government after a special council meeting held on Thursday recommended that he be dismissed after being found guilty of fraud, theft and insubordination last Friday.
In a meeting that lasted over three hours, councillors adopted recommendations by a three- member inquiry team led by Kwekwe provincial magistrate Tendai Mahwe that was probing him over eight charges.
The inquiry found Zingwe guilty of six of the charges and recommended to council that he be dismissed from work.
A deeply-divided local authority agreed to adopt the recommendations which will now be forwarded to the Local Government Board for finalisation.
However, Zingwe will have an opportunity to appeal against both the findings of the inquiry and its recommendations before the board which, according to the Urban Councils Act, hires and fires all senior council management.
Sources who attended the meeting said Zingwe only had the support of four out of 13 councillors who argued that the inquiry team was illegal as it was appointed unlawfully and therefore their recommendations should not have been adopted by council.
The four, Weston Masiya, Aaron Gwalazimba, Queenly Chitopo and Amanda Chanza, are reported to have requested that their names be noted to express their displeasure over the recommendations.
Mayor Shadreck Tobaiwa confirmed the local authority had adopted the Mahwe recommendations after intense deliberations, saying the recommendations would now be forwarded to the Local Government Board.
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“We adopted the recommendations. After deliberations in a special council meeting it is now the decision of council to relieve Zingwe of his duties,” said Tobaiwa. The defence team has indicated that it is determined to challenge both the findings and recommendations of the inquiry when they appear before the Local Government Board.
Zingwe, who was placed on suspension from council last year, has served the local authority for the past 20 years in various capacities including as deputy treasurer.
He was elevated in 2009 following the death of city treasurer Matthias Medaldo.