Masvingo demotes top official

MASVINGO City Council has demoted its Bushmead Water Works superintendent for gross negligence following a massive shortage of chemicals at the water treatment plant late last year.

Charles Chapanduka, who was the waterworks superintendent when council pumped half-treated water, has been removed from his position and reassigned to the sewerage plant in Eastvale.

Mayor Collen Maboke con rmed the development and revealed that Chapanduka was found guilty of gross negligence following internal disciplinary procedures although he had appealed the judgement.

“He was demoted to the sewerage department after he was found guilty at the initial hearing. He appealed, but we found issues relating to gross negligence because he didn’t perform his duties as expected,” Maboke said.

Since January, Chapanduka has been under suspension as investigations were being made into allegations of incompetence after he failed to report the shortage to town engineer Tawanda Gozo, only for council to act on a tip-o from one of Chapanduka’s subordinates.

reported in January this year that the local authority had faced a chemical shortage and had to borrow 15 tonnes of aluminum sulphate from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to cover for the shortage.

Although council refuted the TellZim story, they went on to set up a commission of inquiry which found Chapanduka guilty of gross negligence and failing to report the shortage to his superiors in time.

The local authority has since called for applications for the post and they are also in the process of recruiting an assistant water works superintendent.