By ALEX NJOVU
Copperbelt provincial local government officer Solomon Sakala said some councillors recently signed a petition to terminate the contract of town clerk Ali Simwinga on the basis that he was allegedly feeling unwell.
Mr Sakala said the petition was blocked by his office.
He warned that government was ready to suspend the local authority if councillors went ahead with plans to terminate Mr Simwinga’s contract.
Mr Sakala said some councillors were misled into signing the petition without knowing the purpose of the document they were signing.
“Some councillors were signing the petition without knowing that it was meant to remove Mr Simwinga from his office but when they realised this, they abandoned the document and confusion arose. We had to move in to stop the ill intended petition,” he said.
Mr Sakala said councillors have no powers to deal with council officials in division 1, 2 and 3 and wondered why councillors attempted to terminate the contract of Mr Simwinga, who is a senior chief officer.
“We have so many problems facing the people of Kitwe, the drainage is poor and some township roads are not in good state. Why fight one man when they can use their energies on important issues to resolve problems facing the people in Kitwe?
“We are disappointed that a named councillor initiated the move to fire Mr Simwinga. We are monitoring the situation and we are ready to crack the whip if they continue being petty,” he said.
Mr Sakala said government is in a hurry to develop the country and called on all stakeholders to support its efforts.
Kitwe mayor Elias Kamanga refused to comment on the matter saying he does not discuss internal council matters.
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