Shongedzai Mugwagwa
The Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has raised a red flag of gross misplaced priorities by the City councillors who are gobbling a large chunk of ratepayers’ money on workshops in Nyanga’s Troutbek Inn, Vumba’s Leopard Rock, Victoria Falls, Kadoma Hotel and Golden Peacock hotel in Mutare, the Harare Post can exclusively report.
The HRT in their press release complained that the city fathers have so far since 30 July 2018 held more than 30 workshops in these leafy and expensive hotels yet they can conduct such for a free charge in Harare’s community halls and Harare house.
After these workshops, each councillor pockets about a $1000 dollars adding up to $12000 and $46000 for senior management.
Currently, Harare Deputy Mayor Enoch Mupamaoende and other 24 Councillors are attending a workshop at Kadoma Hotel which started on 11 April 2019 and its running concurrently at the same venue with a Senior Managers, Heads of Department and the Town Clerk numbering about 58 officials.
“It is common cause that the city of Harare has underutilised Harare house at its disposal and the town house chambers and their community halls where they can hold workshops without incurring expenses to the ratepayers’ account,” read the press statement.
Apart from these vast resources at the Council’s disposal, the Councillors and Senior management are shunning it choosing to spend more in the hotels across the country which are out of their jurisdiction.
As if it was not enough, according to HRT, the City of Harare has increased its workforce to more than 12000 employees and all in five months salary backlogs.
The HRT accuses the City Council for recently recruiting about 800 municipal police who were selected on partisan ward councillors as reward to political activism.
The new recruits gobble about $1.4 million in salaries and allowances.
A prevailing situation is of acute shortage of ambulances crippling the delivery of healthcare services in Harare, where sick people have to endure many hours of waiting before an ambulance is available to transport them to hospital.
Ironically, the municipality is making a killing in revenue, clamping and towing away vehicles in line with statutory instrument 104 of 2005 (Clamping and Tow Away) By-laws.
According to HRT, the Council is raising capital revenue of more than $14.2 million dollars per month in rentals and rates collected. The money is insufficient to cater for salaries, service delivery, administration and allowances as their monthly wage bill is now above $12. 4 million, leaving nothing else for service delivery.
Sadly, this revelation comes at a time when the local authority’s ambulance fleet has also been grounded due to a shortage of fuel and spares, paralysing the provision of emergency services in the city.
