GWERU City Council has sanctioned water disconnections in a bid to increase revenue to meet salaries of workers after failing to pay Grade 1-7 employees last Friday.
STEPHEN CHADENGA OWN CORRESPONDENT
Council finance director Edgar Mwedzi indicated in a memo that council needed to raise $195 000 to pay lower grade workers.
Mwedzi said council was yet to assess the outcome of water disconnections to raise revenue for the wage bill. “In our works council meeting of the 23rd of June, it was indicated that we needed to collect $195 000 to meet grades one to seven,” he said in the memo.
If these salaries were going to be paid by 27th June, it meant average daily banking of $50 000 starting from the 24th June.
We went even to sanction water disconnections in a bid to raise this amount.” Mwedzi said the council’s revenue situation was precarious and the National Social Security Association had sent a garnish order of $133 000 to the local authority, but that amount was reduced to $58 000 after negotiations.
He said council had managed to raise $102 000 between June 23 and 26, but that amount still fell short of the required money to meet the salaries obligation. The cash-strapped municipality has been in salary arrears since the beginning of the year.
