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Mayor rejects luxury vehicle
Blessed
Mhlanga, Southern Eye
October 29, 2013
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/10/29/mayor-rejects-luxury-vehicle/
Kwekwe mayor
Matenda Madzoke has turned down an offer by the local authority
to buy him a new 4×4 Toyota D Tec at a time service delivery
has almost collapsed.
Councillor Weston
Masiya said the previous council led by Shadreck Tobaiwa had passed
a resolution to purchase the mayoral vehicle for $68 000 with part
of the deposit having already beenpaid.
“We had
passed that resolution to purchase the car and up to the time we
left office the vehicle had not been bought, but a deposit of $38
000 was paid. We are supposed to pay another $16 000 before taking
delivery of the car,” he said.
Madzoke has
since instructed council to use the $38 000 already paid by council
to acquire a refuse removal tractor or truck.
“I’m
not going to be driving a brand new expensive vehicle on roads with
potholes which are littered with heaps of uncollected refuse and
call myself a mayor,” he said.
“I was
put into office to ensure service delivery and that is going to
be my first priority.”
Masiya confirmed
Madzoke had declined the offer of the vehicle at a time council
was struggling to meet its wage bill on time.
“He was
very clear that service delivery should come first and I fully support
him. Being a mayor means prioritising what is important for the
city,” he said.
In 2012, council
tabled a capital budget which would have seen it acquire five top-of-the-range
4x4s for its top management and mayor for a whopping $450 000.
The budget triggered
a war between residents and the local authority which saw Local
Government minister Ignatius Chombo being invited to investigate
allegations of corruption.
Former Education
minister David Coltart is another prominent politician who refused
a luxury government vehicle as part of his perks.
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