BULAWAYO city council has come under fire from the government over its profligate spending after blowing US$65 000 on a luxury new vehicle for the executive mayor.

Local Government, Urban and Rural Development, Dr Ignatius Chombo said it was unfortunate that the city council had prioritised the purchase of the mayoral vehicle at the expense of service delivery.

Bulawayo city council recently acquired a Chrysler 2.0l CRO Dodge Journey for the mayor in a development that elicited furious condemnation from residents most of whom described the expenditure as “obscene”.

The Mayor, Clr Thabo Moyo defended the expenditure saying it had been part of council plans for some time.

However Chombo who was clearly surprised by the acquisition said the council even ignored his ministry’s advice to seek assistance from the Central Mechanical Equipment Department and acquire a more reliable and cheaper vehicle.

“Why buy a Dodge, a vehicle which is not even serviceable in the country? They (manufacturers of the vehicle) have just started to construct a plant in South Africa.

“These people should have simply purchased a Mercedes Benz which is classier, reliable and above all serviceable locally.

“They are taking rate payers for granted as it will be even more expensive to service the vehicle than the purchase price itself,” he said.

Chombo said the council had approached his ministry with proposals for the purchase and were advised to work with the CMED.

“As a Ministry we even wrote a letter on their behalf to CMED to render them assistance on the purchase. At the end of the day, what was the reason for them to approach us when they knew they already had their own ideas in mind,” he said.

The Minister said it was sad and unfortunate that citizens were being led by councillors who evidently did not have the people at heart but were only interested in boosting their egos through the attainment of luxuries.

“Their carelessness is there for everyone to see. (Again) a mayoral vehicle is just for the transportation of the mayor from one point to another and there is absolutely no reason to become too fancy,” he said.

Meanwhile the Bulawayo United Residents Association (BURA) has blasted the local authority accusing it of abusing ratepayers’ hard earned funds.

BURA chairperson Winos Dube said government should intervene and carry out a thorough audit to ensure that councillors were not abusing their powers.

“It should be investigated where these people got the funds to purchase such a vehicle. Besides we, as residents, were not even consulted on the purchase,” Dube said.

The mayor took delivery of his new wheels on March 4; just months after the council bought him a Mazda BT50.

The Mazda BT50 has since been consigned to the mayor’s pool which already boasts of a ceremonial vintage black Rolls Royce, a Toyota Venture, a Nissan Pathfinder and a Toyota Prado.

Research on car sales websites suggest that a Dodge Journey would cost around US$20,000 if bought outside the country.

After including duty and other taxes the total cost comes close to US$40 000. However the Bulawayo city council says it spent US$65 000 on the vehicle.