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Midlands Correspondent
SHURUGWI municipal police details are now required to salute council officials and councillors whenever they meet them. Sources told Chronicle yesterday that the municipal police recently received the directive and council is determined to effect the new law.“I was shocked when I recently woke up to find a notice at the town house’s main entrance requiring all security personnel to salute all council officials and councillors whenever we meet them. We used to salute the town council chairperson and the town treasurer but the new law requires us to salute all the council officials including a general hand. It’s shocking,” said a municipal police officer who requested not to be named.

Another said the development was unheard of.

“I don’t think there is any local authority with this kind of arrangement in Zimbabwe except Shurugwi. We are being treated like we are in a colonial set-up,” he said.

The municipal police details said they have approached the town council’s workers committee chairperson, Savious Nyamayevhu to try and have the new law revoked.

“Nyamayevhu is also a beneficiary and instead of taking our case further, he appears to be enjoying being saluted. We are now stranded and we don’t know where to take our case further because we believe this is not proper,” said another disgruntled municipal security official.

Shurugwi Town council chairperson, Councillor Tsungai Makore said the law was not new.  He said municipal police officials have long been required to salute staff and councillors but were no longer upholding the law.

“The resolution which required municipal police to salute officials and councillors was introduced by the previous council and we only inherited it. What was happening was that municipal police officers were no longer implementing the law and it was only discussed in council after it was raised by councillor (Devious) Mapwaya in a meeting,” he said.

Makore said most of the municipal police officers were employed by the then predominantly MDC-T council and were not respecting new councilors, the majority of whom are Zanu-PF.

“What we only did as council was to remind the municipal police that they should just implement the law and show some form of respect to officials and councilors. They only salute officials and councilors when they are at the town house not everywhere,” he said.