US $1m Disappeared At Kwekwe City Council

By Prisca Manyiwa

KWEKWE city council management and councilors are intangled over a US$1 million which reportedly ‘dissappeared from the council coffers.

Speaking during a full council meeting, former Mayor Angeline Kasipo questioned the council management over the missing US$ 1 million dollars which reportedly disappeared in the council coffers.

Kasipo who returned to the council through the March 26 by elections raised questions over the ‘US$1 million’ resolution they made before she was booted out of the council together with her fellow councilors Melody Chingarande and Washington Moyo.

According to Kasipo a resolution was made to the effect that council purchase equipment with the money in June last year.

She is however surprised to find out that the equipment they resolved to buy with the said money was not there neither was the money.

In response, the director of Finance Rejoice Maweni argued that council never had such an amount of money and it is not possible for council to have such a huge amount in United States Dollars since the council’s sources of money usually bring them Zimbabwean dollars.

“We never had such an amount in our account because our sources of revenue usually bring RTGS and the other source which sometimes bring US dollars is our bus terminus.

We wanted to buy this equipment with devolution funds but we could not buy the equipment because we could not meet the requirements of the supplier, ” said Maweni.

Despite the director of finance’s arguments, another returnee councilor Washington Moyo who was also part of the said resolution insisted that council had a million United States Dollars in it’s coffers which was meant to purchase the equipment.

The matter dragged the council proceedings as it drew the attention of the entire council and individuals in the gallery who started mumbling demanding for answers with regards to the said funds.

“That cannot be true because we had a forex account as council and the director said we had US$1 million to buy a fire tender, ambulance, tipper and other equipments so we made a resolution to that effect that those equipments were supposed to be purchased,” said Moyo.

The council Chairperson for the finance committee councilor Silas Mukaro disputed Moyo’s claims.

“We never had such an amount in our accounts but we only has US$250 000.

“We had devolution funds and we gave a tender to Croco motors but they could not deliver the equipment to us on time until we decided to channel the funds to other projects, ” said Mukaro.

However, the former Mayor Angeline Kasipo requested for some financial statements from the finance department to substantiate their arguments and the director of Finance promised to unveil the statements.

Earlier the minister of Local government, public works and national housing, July moyo was reportedly in the media ove the alleged abused devolution funds.