Terrence Mawawa
The mayor of the City of Harare, councillor Bernard Manyenyeni has said the woes bedevilling the city of Harare are beyond his control and his efforts to rectify the problems have not materialised due to political consequences.
Below is Manyenyeni’ s statement:
I call Harare City Council a billion dollar tragedy
because:
1. The current Council started on over $300m written
off for political mileage a few days before the July
2013 elections.
2. That figure written off is two years’ worth of
revenue which means Council was only resourced to
serve residents for only 3 years out of its 5-year term
in office.
3. The ratepayers buoyed by that “debt-write-off”
mentality and a collapsed economy have avoided
paying rates.
We are now sitting on $750m debtors book.
We collect around half of the bills every month.
4. The salary and benefits levels granted by the
former Minister in 2013 just before this current
council came into office have choked council
beyond delivery.
5. Every job in council is over-paid by 2 to 3 times
compared to similar jobs out of Council.
Municipal earnings should be half-way between
government and private sector levels. But currently
the levels are way above even the private sector pay
packets.
6. The additional costs (ie overpayment) is between
$180m and $420m in a 5-year mandate.
7. After shouting at the mayor against salary right-
sizing for a long time the former Minister had finally
accepted that the HR was unsustainable right
towards his exit from office.
8. The party in council majority and the government
ruling party have deep-rooted relations with labour:
therefore the right-sizing discussion is most
unwelcome.
9. The city owes the Local Authorities Pension Fund
over $200m – to such an extent that the Fund has
become technically a collapsed money scheme.
Former workers and survivors of late former workers
are going for years without getting any payment.
10. We are perennially in salary arrears and very few
people appreciate the link between this high level of
remuneration and the inability to pay on time – let
alone the impact on service delivery.
Those seeking to serve in the next council need
billion dollar decision-making and political capacity.
With power, willpower, priority and focus Harare City
Council can be fixed in 6 months.
The lack of legal and political power to effect tough
unavoidable decisions will continue haunt.
11. Please ignore loud voices from high offices about
service delivery failure. Tell them to box smart…
we know whose mess this is!
12. Council business is serious boardroom business
and it is informed purely by facts and figures not
sentiment, politics, emotions, expectations and
assumptions.