Stephen Chadenga
Gweru City Council partnership with City Parking private limited has paid dividends as the local authority uses funds from the parking management company to buy equipment necessary for service delivery, a senior council official has said.
In an interview mayor Martin Chivhoko told The Blast that since the deal commenced four years ago the local authority managed to buy heavy machinery using money remitted by City Parking.
“We have continuously ring-fenced remittances from City Parking and this has enabled us to buy the much needed yellow machines,”Chivhoko said.
“The deal with City Parking is one public-private partnership at Gweru council which has paid dividends. We hope to continue in that good spirit.”
Council managed to purchase heavy equipment like graders, front-end loaders and caterpillars among others.
Chivhoko said council was facing huge financial constraints and funds from the parking management firm have seen the local authority able to attend to some key service delivery issues.
He said the company has also chipped in through social corporate responsibility programmes that has benefitted the less privileged.
“Recently they donated wheelchairs to persons with disabilities and we greatly appreciate that gesture,”he said.
Gweru City Parking general manager Alphanette Gemu said his company would help people with disabilities in various wards in the city.
“This is part of our corporate social responsibility as a company to help the less privileged,”Gemu said at a recent handover of the wheelchairs.
Gweru entered into the deal with City Parking after the local authority had for years used the manual system that was prone to manipulation by it’s employees. The old system saw council losing thousands of dollars with workers using loopholes (in the system) to loot funds.