Staff Reporter
Kwekwe City Council councillors called for the demotion of underperforming employees, accusing some workers of fueling poor service delivery and even demanding bribes from residents.
The call was made during a recently held full council meeting where the councillors demanded that management deal with underoerformers who are dragging the city backwards.
Councillors raised concern over what they described as sluggish response times by the council’s works and water departments, particularly in attending to burst pipes, sewer blockages and delayed infrastructure repairs across the city.
Ward 8 Councillor Makomborero Mlambo accused some council employees of soliciting bribes before attending to sewer-related problems, calling the practice unacceptable.
“As directors and heads of departments, you must reprimand your subordinates because what is happening on the ground is completely different from what management agrees with us here,” said Mlambo.
“I received a report from a resident who was asked to pay US$65 by council workers before they could fix a sewer blockage. This is alarming and it is high time action is taken,” he said.
Ward 9 Councillor Maxwell Judha echoed the same concerns, saying the city was losing large volumes of treated water due to delays in repairing burst pipes, even in the central business district.
“We are not happy with the performance of employees in the water section,” said Judha.
“Simple burst pipes are taking far too long to fix. We are losing treated water in the CBD because of this poor response. Those who are underperforming should be demoted to lower grades,” he said.
Kwekwe Mayor Albert Zinhanga acknowledged the complaints raised by councillors and said council management had taken note of the concerns.
The calls for accountability come amid growing frustration from residents over recurring water and sewer challenges in the city.
Deal with underperformers: Councillors demand
Kwekwe City Council councillors called for the demotion of underperforming employees, accusing some workers of fueling poor service delivery and even demanding bribes from residents.
The call was made during a recently held full council meeting where the councillors demanded that management deal with underperformers who are dragging the city backwards.
Councillors raised concern over what they described as sluggish response times by the council’s works and water departments, particularly in attending to burst pipes, sewer blockages and delayed infrastructure repairs across the city.
Ward 8 Councillor Makomborero Mlambo accused some council employees of soliciting bribes before attending to sewer-related problems, calling the practice unacceptable.
“As directors and heads of departments, you must reprimand your subordinates because what is happening on the ground is completely different from what management agrees with us here,” said Mlambo.
“I received a report from a resident who was asked to pay US$65 by council workers before they could fix a sewer blockage. This is alarming and it is high time action is taken,” he said.
Ward 9 Councillor Maxwell Judha echoed the same concerns, saying the city was losing large volumes of treated water due to delays in repairing burst pipes, even in the central business district.
“We are not happy with the performance of employees in the water section,” said Judha.
“Simple burst pipes are taking far too long to fix. We are losing treated water in the CBD because of this poor response. Those who are underperforming should be demoted to lower grades,” he said.
Kwekwe Mayor Albert Zinhanga acknowledged the complaints raised by councillors and said council management had taken note of the concerns.
The calls for accountability come amid growing frustration from residents over recurring water and sewer challenges in the city.
