Chiefs demand vehicles, allowances

CHIEFS in the Matabeleland region have demanded vehicles and specific dates for the payment of their allowances from the government.

The chiefs said this yesterday during a meeting with the Minister of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage, Abednico Ncube, in Bulawayo.

The chiefs also said they wanted their allowances to be paid directly to them and not be released through District Administrators as this was inconveniencing them.

They said, like civil servants, the government must pay them through the banks.

They also said they had not received vehicles for the past five years and the government must not make excuses as Members of Parliament had received their cars.

Chief Mathuphula from Tsholotsho said chiefs are supposed to be allocated cars after every five years but since 2004 this has not happened. He said this had made it difficult for them to perform their duties.

"We were promised cars and we are supposed to get these cars every five years. But we haven't been given these vehicles. We need cars to access our areas," Chief Mathuphula said.

This was seconded by various chiefs including the President of Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira, who said the government must not make excuses about its failure to provide them with cars.

"We need the cars honourable Minister. The government should not use the performance of the economy as an excuse to avoid giving us cars. The reason I say so is that it is buying cars for MPs every five years. After every election, they buy cars for MPs so we also need the cars because the money comes from the same Treasury'', said Charumbira.

He said since 2004, no car had been given to any chief so the government owes them two cars each.

"Chiefs are not being respected at all. The allowances go through many offices before reaching us. From Treasury our money is sent to the ministry, then to the provincial administrator then to the district administrator. This is a very long process," said Chief Mathema from Matabeleland South.

He called for specific dates when the allowances would be released. "We don't have a fixed date for our allowances yet war veterans and other civil servants are told when they will receive their allowances and salaries," Chief Mathema said.

Several other chiefs said the delays in releasing funds were unacceptable.

Minister Ncube said the government was aware of their concerns and they would be addressed.

He apologised for the delays in releasing funds for chiefs saying the issue is being rectified. "I'm also quite alive to the challenges affecting the traditional leadership institution which include lack of vehicles, inaccessible roads to chiefs' homesteads and the meagre allowances among other things. My Ministry is constantly engaging the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development over your vehicles and allowances and they have promised to resolve the issues as soon as possible," said Minister Ncube. "It's my desire that chiefs should receive their allowances on time. The delay in disbursement of your allowances was partly caused by the new institutional configurations which resulted from the creation of our Ministry towards the end of last year."