News / National
City gets back impounded ambulances
22 Jul 2022 at 06:40hrs | Views
KWEKWE City Council is set to get back two ambulances that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) had impounded on allegations that they were not properly imported.
The ambulances were purchased in 2018 by former Mbizo legislator Vongaiishe Mpereri who donated them to the local authority.
They were impounded by ZIMRA at the height of investigations into former State House Director, Douglas Tapfuma who was being accused of abusing his office to fraudulently import a fleet of vehicles including the two ambulances.
Tapfuma was convicted and sentenced to a four-year jail term.
Kwekwe City has been frantically battling to recover the service vehicles following the closure of the Tapfuma case.
Giving an update during a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, Town Clerk Dr Lucia Mnkandla said they had finally made inroads and they were awaiting delivery of the ambulances anytime.
"We are grateful to our council team and the District Development Coordinator's office who successfully negotiated that we get back the ambulances after long discussions.
"We are supposed to receive them any time from today and this is a milestone to service delivery," she said.
The development is a major boost to the council's health service delivery system which was operating with only one ambulance with the rest broken down.
It comes at a time when Kwekwe City is constructing more clinics and sprucing up existing ones to ensure improved health service delivery.
Dr Mnkandla said most infrastructure lying idle will be transformed into useful and meaningful centres.
Dr Mnkandla said council was purchasing more equipment despite the harsh economic conditions.
The ambulances were purchased in 2018 by former Mbizo legislator Vongaiishe Mpereri who donated them to the local authority.
They were impounded by ZIMRA at the height of investigations into former State House Director, Douglas Tapfuma who was being accused of abusing his office to fraudulently import a fleet of vehicles including the two ambulances.
Tapfuma was convicted and sentenced to a four-year jail term.
Kwekwe City has been frantically battling to recover the service vehicles following the closure of the Tapfuma case.
Giving an update during a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, Town Clerk Dr Lucia Mnkandla said they had finally made inroads and they were awaiting delivery of the ambulances anytime.
"We are grateful to our council team and the District Development Coordinator's office who successfully negotiated that we get back the ambulances after long discussions.
"We are supposed to receive them any time from today and this is a milestone to service delivery," she said.
The development is a major boost to the council's health service delivery system which was operating with only one ambulance with the rest broken down.
It comes at a time when Kwekwe City is constructing more clinics and sprucing up existing ones to ensure improved health service delivery.
Dr Mnkandla said most infrastructure lying idle will be transformed into useful and meaningful centres.
Dr Mnkandla said council was purchasing more equipment despite the harsh economic conditions.
Source - The Chronicle
