‘FANUEL JERE DIED A BITTER MAN’

FORMER City of Kadoma employee Fanuel Jere is said to have taken his anger to the grave after being neglected by his former employer when he needed them the most, a family spokesperson has said.

Fanuel Jere passed on at his home in West View suburb after a long battle with a leg ailment.

He retired from council in 2003 at age 65.

He was 83 at the time of his demise. In an exclusive interview with H-Metro, Jere’s first born son Shadreck poured his heart out on how his father always complained about his former employer for being ungrateful.

“My father served council for close to half a century. He joined as a very young boy aged 16. He became the face of Kadoma engineering and superintending over all challenges. On some occasions, he would be called back from leave or off duty to attend to stubborn breakdowns in sewer, drainage and water pipes.

He added: “After such an illustrious career, council paid a paltry pension which could only buy roofing sheets for the house he was building using his own funds. He was still paying for services like water and refuse collection. At the time of his death he was in service charge arrears.”

Council was not done in their neglect, according to Shadreck, “When he passed on we had difficulties securing a grave for him. He was not allocated a specific grave as a former servant of the city. We had to scuttle from one office to the other for his burial place which we eventually secured at the low rung public graveyard in Rimuka. That on its own demonstrates insensitivity on the part of our council.”

His equally bitter widow Jane Madure interjected, “He never received any form of recognition or souvenir for all those efforts. I served council at Rimuka clinic and when I retired my colleagues bought this glass-topped table for me. It’s a gesture that makes me feel appreciated up to now. He never reaped the benefits of his hard toil,” she moaned.

Fanuel Jere joined council as an assistant engineer, rising through the ranks to become a town engineer. He was overally involved in proposing, planning, implementing, maintenance and repair of Kadoma urban roads, sewer and water treatment infrastructure.