Deputy sheriff haunts Kwekwe

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THE Kwekwe City Council risks having its property attached and auctioned after workers from its redundant subsidiary Dandaro Marketing obtained a writ of execution against the local authority over outstanding salaries and wages dating back two years.

THE Kwekwe City Council risks having its property attached and auctioned after workers from its redundant subsidiary Dandaro Marketing obtained a writ of execution against the local authority over outstanding salaries and wages dating back two years.

BLESSED MHLANGA STAFF REPORTER

In a Harare High Court judgment (case 598/12) dated October 29 the deputy sheriff was instructed to attach movable property of Dandaro to recover $48 941,90 in outstanding salaries and wages.

“You are required and directed to attach and take into execution the movable goods of Dandaro Marketing and of the same cause to be realised the sum of $48 941,90 which Kelvin Phiri and 41 other employees of Dandaro Marketing have recovered by judgment of this court,” part of the writ reads.

Innocent Hore, the lawyer representing the Dandaro employees, said the judgment was obtained on July 18, but the workers had not obtained an order to attach council property because the local authority had forwarded a payment plan which it is failing to honour.

“They offered us a payment plan which we were agreeable, but they have since failed to adhere to it. They only paid us two instalments of $6 000,00 and then stopped. My clients were therefore left with no option but to move to attach and auction,” Hore said.

Kwekwe City Council is facing a serious cashflow crisis and battling to settle its current wage and salaries bill, and some workers are yet to receive their October salaries.

Mayor Matenda Madzoke said he was not aware of the judgment or the existence of the writ to attach property belonging to the local authority over the debt by one of its now defunct subsidiaries.

Most local authorities were thrown into financial doldrums after a ministerial directive ordered them to scrap all outstanding residential debts accrued between February 2009 and June 30 2013.