BY SILAS NKALA
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC)’s cremator which was impounded in South Africa in 2017 while on its way into the country has reportedly accumulated a storage debt of over R1 million.
The cremator was held in that country after the contractor failed to pay R120 000 to the South African Revenue Services (Sars) for its release.
BCC has been advised to collect its cremator valued at US$100 000 to avoid further accumulation of storage fees.
The cremator was imported from Japan and was impounded in South Africa in 2017 by the Sars in Durban while on transit to Bulawayo.
Council had contracted a private company to purchase and deliver the cremator.
Latest council minutes state that town clerk Christopher Dube recently reported that Sars had since written to BCC informing them that the cremator storage charges were soaring to over R1 million.
“Sars had since written to council and advised that the storage charges were now R1 078 532, and it would continue to accrue if we take long to settle the bill,” read part of the council minutes.
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Dube reported that council on September 6, 2017 had resolved that it had taken over the contract for procurement and delivery of the cremator.
“Council had two options, to pay the storage costs and have the cremator released as soon as possible, or to abandon it and lose both the cremator and the deposit paid of US$97 120. Management had considered the matter and was recommending option one as it would mitigate our loss.”
“The matter was considered and the acting chamber secretary advised that council should consider option one in order to mitigate its losses. It was resolved that authority be granted to council to settle the bill in order for the cremator to be released without further delay,” reads the minutes.
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