By Staff Reporter
Former Mbizo legislator Vongaishe Mupereri has threatened to take action against Kwekwe Mayor Albert Zinhanga and senior council officials for failure to avail a car to the local authority’s chief fire officer.
Mupereri who was tasked with making a vote of thanks came out guns blazing during a recent tour of the newly established chrome smelting company, Global Union, where he expressed outrage over the alleged neglect of Chief Fire Officer Admire Masarakufa, who he claims has not been allocated a utility vehicle to effectively carry out his duties.
Mupereri said Masarakufa might be a victim of persecution because of his political affiliation.
“I want to know why the Chief Fire Officer is not being given a car to use. His predecessor had a vehicle to follow up on fire awareness campaigns and prevention programs. We have been quiet for too long—we are beginning to think he is being victimized for being a Zanu PF supporter,” Mupereri said.
He also directed criticism at Kwekwe District Development Coordinator (DDC) Fortune Mupungu, who chairs the Civil Protection Unit, accusing him of failing to intervene.
“DDC, you are responsible for disaster management—why are you silent on this issue when you can see the officer has no vehicle? There are two cars currently parked at Kwekwe City Council. I don’t know who is supposed to get them, but one should be given to the Chief Fire Officer so he can perform his duties effectively,” Mupereri said.
Addressing Mayor Zinhanga, Town Clerk Dr. Lucia Mkandla, Engineer Mhike, and the DDC, Mupereri issued a warning.
“If you do not resolve this, it will not end well. We want progress. If we didn’t know that the previous fire officer had a car, we wouldn’t be raising this.”
He further alleged that council fire tenders were being misused to attend meetings while emergency response efforts were compromised due to the lack of a utility vehicle for Masarakufa.
“These fire trucks are being used for official meetings, yet we recently lost a child in a fire incident because the response was delayed. That’s unacceptable,” he said.
