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Amanda Chikari, Midlands Reporter
REDCLIFF municipality has approached Government seeking approval to retrench over 50 employees by the end of this month as part of a staff rationalisation process.

The local authority which is in arrears in terms of paying salaries for its 234 workers says the move to retrench is aimed at bringing down the council’s wage bill.

In an interview yesterday, Kwekwe mayor Councillor Fred Kapuya said council was struggling to meet its salary obligations.

Clr Kapuya said the municipality could not continue to increase monies owed to workers in workers’ salaries and packages, hence it has to retrench and remain effective in terms of service delivery.

“As a local authority we are struggling to pay our workers because we are cash strapped. We have seen it fit to retrench and we are seeking government approval to undertake the exercise by the end of this month because that is the only way for us to survive,” he said.

Clr Kapuya said the drastic and unpopular decision was arrived at after workers refused to accept pay cuts to save jobs.

“We engaged them wanting to cut their salaries but they refused that route and we have no option but to retrench. We had 300 employees but we have not  been replacing those who would have retired, fired or died leaving us with this current 234 workers,” he said.

Clr Kapuya said they were also seeking a new town clerk after Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza left the local authority for Gweru City Council last year to assume the same post.  He said they were in the process of submitting three candidates to the Local Government Board for approval.— @amanda49