CHITUNGWIZA officials yesterday denied reports that they had opened secret bank accounts where they paid themselves hefty salaries while other workers wallowed in poverty.
VENERANDA LANGA SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER
Town clerk George Makunde and chamber secretary Priscilla Vengesai told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare chaired by Gutu East MP Berita Chikwama (Zanu PF) said the allegations were based on fraudulent documents created by disgruntled council employees.
Makunde and Vengesayi had been summoned to explain why they fired whistleblowers who had raised the issue in Parliament.
“We do not have any secret account for management salaries,” Makunde said. “If there was any evidence those were fraudulently crafted papers which were meant to tarnish our image.”
He said directors at Chitungwiza Municipality were harassed and threatened with beatings and they ended up working from home following publication of reports that they were paying themselves handsomely at the expense of other workers.
Makunda told the committee that the June 2013 High Court order which said illegal settlers in Chitungwiza should be dealt with had not been implemented to date and was causing the mushrooming of more illicit settlements.
“That court order has not been implemented and it is difficult because people are sprouting overnight. There is another verdict by the Magistrates’ Court which said there should be no demolitions, and that is fuelling a number of illegal structures overnight when there are no services in those areas,” Makunda said.
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He rubbished the Chitungwiza Residents’ Association saying there were certain groups which claimed to be standing for residents and yet they were part of earlier scams.
“Some of these residents’ groups were formed by former MPs and councillors involved in scams and now they want to protect their earlier shoddy deals,” he said.
Vengesai said the council’s salary account gobbled $153 000 monthly and had accrued salary arrears of 10 months.
She said there were plans to retrench workers and cut down on the salary bill, adding that the slashing of debts by government affected the council drastically.
“Besides the issue of salary arrears we have other challenges like militant employees terrorising management and in some cases assaulting management. We have a bloated wage bill and creditors dating back to 2011, pending demolitions, fuelling of illegal structures, and a tattered image due to bad publicity,” she said.
