News / Local
Town clerk seeks R120 000 to pay for cremator
09 Oct 2017 at 02:07hrs | Views
The Bulawayo council Town Clerk Christopher Dube recently submitted to the council a request for authority to pay R120 000 to South African Revenue Authority as costs of suit to facilitate the release of the cremator which was currently being held in Durban.
This is revealed in the latest council minutes.
"However efforts to pay the costs could not go through because the Reserve Bank had requested certain information from the contractor which information he could not produce because the company was currently not operating. Having hit a brick wall the matter had been referred back to management which sought audience with the contractors lawyers," reads the minutes.
"It had been confirmed that the cremator was at Durban. Council had paid the contractor $97 120 deposit and chances of recovering these funds were very slim. In order to mitigate our loss management was proposing that Council takeover the contract from Durban to Zimbabwe including the installation."
According to the minutes this decision had been arrived at after considering the following factors that: if the contract was cancelled Council stood to lose the deposit paid, a new tender would cost Council more than taking over the current one, most of the costs outstanding would remain there whether the contract was cancelled or not and it was better to pay a little more than to lose $97 120.
"It was therefore recommended that Council takeover the contract and that the costs involved thereof will be reported to the relevant committee as soon as the figures become available. In the ensuing discussion the Chamber Secretary briefed the meeting on the history and circumstances surrounding the supply and delivery of the Cremator furnance for West Park Cemetery," reads the minutes.
"The cremator was still being held in Durban pending clearance by the contractor of certain South African Revenue Authority costs, which costs the contractor was apparently failing to pay. The proposal therefore, was for Council to take over the contract to ensure progress on this matter and to avoid further losses."
This is revealed in the latest council minutes.
"However efforts to pay the costs could not go through because the Reserve Bank had requested certain information from the contractor which information he could not produce because the company was currently not operating. Having hit a brick wall the matter had been referred back to management which sought audience with the contractors lawyers," reads the minutes.
According to the minutes this decision had been arrived at after considering the following factors that: if the contract was cancelled Council stood to lose the deposit paid, a new tender would cost Council more than taking over the current one, most of the costs outstanding would remain there whether the contract was cancelled or not and it was better to pay a little more than to lose $97 120.
"It was therefore recommended that Council takeover the contract and that the costs involved thereof will be reported to the relevant committee as soon as the figures become available. In the ensuing discussion the Chamber Secretary briefed the meeting on the history and circumstances surrounding the supply and delivery of the Cremator furnance for West Park Cemetery," reads the minutes.
"The cremator was still being held in Durban pending clearance by the contractor of certain South African Revenue Authority costs, which costs the contractor was apparently failing to pay. The proposal therefore, was for Council to take over the contract to ensure progress on this matter and to avoid further losses."
Source - cremator
