Ray Nkosi | Four (4) top Harare City Council officials have prejudiced the local authority of over $500 000 in fake holiday allowances whose figures they went on to inflate.

According to a government audit carried out last year whose results came out last week, four named Harare City Council senior managers treated  themselves to holiday allowances which the local authority had not budgeted for.

“Four (4) executive managers were paid holiday and contact leave allowances to the tune of $156,590 in March 2015 and July 2015 through RTGS system outside employment costs in their personal bank accounts,” read part of the audit report.

The executive managers, the audit said went on to inflate the figures of the allowances which they gave themselves without even going for the said holidays.

“In the July 2015 pay sheet, and in an unclear motive they later posted inflated holiday and contact leave allowances to the tune of $343,900 on the affected four of the executive managers resulting in them being over paid by a total of $187,310.

The top Harare City Council executive managers , are Chonzi P, who was paid a holiday allowance of $77,100,Ncube J , got a holiday package of $40,700,Chingombe C, was given $40,100 and Mahachi T, went home with a fake holiday allowance of $186,000.

These figure exclude the contact or on- call allowances which the officials also claimed which amounted to $600 000 they prejudiced the local authority.

“ There was no proof availed to the audit that the executive managers ever went for a holiday granting them the authority to claim for the professional contact leave allowances of $343,900 as resolved in the city of Harare minutes of the sub-committee on the review of conditions of service of executive council’s officials,” said the audit.

The audit report recommended that the Local Government ministry should cause the Harare City Council to recover the lost revenue from the concerned executives who benefited from the fraudulent activities.