Story by Theophilus Chuma
Harare City Council executives have once again courted controversy, amid shocking revelations of hefty salaries and holiday perks, running into several millions of dollars at the expense of service delivery.
The misconduct charge sheet of the Harare City Council stretches as long as the Zambezi River, exposing a series of conspiracies and alleged underhand operations within the local authority.
A salary bill running into half a million United States dollars monthly awarded to only a few executives at Town House is just but a tip of the iceberg to the shenanigans at Harare City Council.
And the Mayor has been kept in the dark, according to the evidence presented during a session of the Commission of Inquiry on Harare City Council this Tuesday.
“It is an anomaly. I have not been able to access the salary roll for the executives. The only time I saw it was when the acting human resources director came to my office and presented the document and he said that he had been instructed by the town clerk not to leave it with me. I just managed a glimpse of the document and saw that the town clerk earned as much as US$27 000 per month, and the figure goes to around US$13 000 per month as the grade goes downwards. All in all it is costing us at least US$500 000 per month and that is unsustainable,”
At the centre of the controversy, official documents reveal a 2024 holiday expense bill of over US$100 000 for the executives.
“I am actually shocked that they can award themselves such perks I was not aware,” he said.
Harare City is paying dearly for the discord on priorities by the City Father’s.
Service delivery is at the brink, as residents endure burst sewer pipes, non-functioning traffic lights and dry taps.
Less than two kilometres from Town House, one of the major bus ranks in the Central Business District, Market Square, is slowly being turned into ruins.
These are some of the issues probed by the Commission of Inquiry as it continues to investigate the state of affairs at the Harare City Council.
