Council property under threat of attachment
CHITUNGWIZA Municipality property is under threat of attachment once again after council’s failure to pay Nissam Investments, a project consultancy company which is owed $3,4 million for designing the Nyatsime project in 2007.
The threat of attachment came recently after the local authority failed to honour its agreed monthly obligations of $10 000 since September last year, a situation which has been blamed on the Caretaker Commission that was appointed by Government last year to run the affairs of Chitungwiza.
Acting chamber secretary Mrs Mary Mukonyora informed councillors recently that Nissam had obtained a writ of execution after the Caretaker Commission failed to honour its obligation to the company.
“Council failed to comply with the agreed position of paying $10 000 monthly to the company during the tenure of the Caretaker Commission,” she said.
“The commission resolved not to pay Nissam despite the fact that it was in possession of a writ of execution which was put on hold following negotiations and agreement that that council was to pay something on a monthly basis.”
The council has since offered residential stands and paid $100 000 in June to avert attachment of its property.
“However, in order to avert further attachment of the property, we partly agreed to offer the aggrieved party vacant stands in Longlands in lieu of cash,” said Mrs Mukonyora.
“The stands would be priced at a cost of $8 per square metre.
“As a way of honouring our obligation, finance paid $100 000 by end of June to stay execution.”
Mrs Mukonyora advised that failure to negotiate would result in instant removal of council property.
Outgoing mayor Goodwill Mushangwe opined that the caretaker commission took advantage of the reprieve and ignored the fact that Nissam had an upperhand.
The local authority got a reprieve last year after former president Robert Mugabe evoked Presidential Powers (temporary measures) to stop the auctioning of property after it was attached by Nissam Investments and Metbank over a debt of more than $4 million.