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Walter Mswazie Masvingo correspondent
THREE former Masvingo City Council managers allegedly looted about $91,000 from the workers’ welfare fund, an official has confirmed.

The junior managers are among six that the local authority fired last month, using the landmark Supreme Court ruling that empowered employers to sack employees on three months’ notice.

About 200 council workers who have been contributing to the fund are stranded after failing to access it.

Town Clerk Adolph Gusha said council had received a formal request from affected workers to investigate the issue.

He said three fired junior managers are under investigation as they were entrusted with handling the fund.

“I can confirm that we’ve been formally approached by workers as management to investigate the issue of money that is missing from the Welfare Fund. The amounts go up to $91,000 and questions have been raised over the conduct of Zimbabwe Urban Council Workers’ Union (ZUCWU) who administer the fund,” said Gusha.

He said after the council completes investigations they will present the findings to the workers’ union, which has the mandate to take any course of action they deem necessary.

“The administrators of the fund failed to account for some of the transactions made from the fund, hence workers approached council,” said Gusha.

The town clerk said since dollarisation in 2009, more than 200 workers have been contributing to the fund.

Gusha said workers were contributing at least $10 per individual per month and the fund carters for workers in times of need.

“These are the monies that workers allege were abused and handlers of the fund were fired from work using the July Supreme Court landmark judgment which empowered employees to dismiss workers on three months’ notice,” he said