adminLeonard Ncube Senior Reporter
SALARIES earned by top management at the cash-strapped Gwanda Municipality are shocking and immediate action needs to be taken, a government official said yesterday.Gwanda council’s top five executives pocketed up to $65,000 per month in total with the Town Clerk Gilbert Mlilo getting about $16,000 with allowances.
Mlilo earns nearly double the salary of his Bulawayo counterpart Middleton Nyoni whose earns $9,000 per month. Cde Abednico Ncube, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Matabeleland South, called for urgent action to deal with the rot. “We’re very worried because the council has problems in paying its workers and water, yet a few individuals award themselves such salaries. We’re not happy as residents especially in relation to water bills,” said Cde Ncube.
“We’re very concerned about the state of affairs in the municipality and we don’t know if Minister Ignatius Chombo will be happy about this.”
He said the town’s top management was taking advantage of the fact that councillors were still new in office. Illustrating the gap in salaries, Gwanda’s general workforce and middle grade managers – who are owed four months’ salaries as management claims there is no money – account for a combined $87,000 per month.
“Some people are just acting wily-nilly,” said Cde Ncube. “You find that these salaries started with MDC councillors because they were not concerned about development of the town. Action has to be taken because at the moment the council owes Zinwa a lot of money.”
Mlilo’s basic pay stands around $6,700 and gets to $16,000 with allowances. Gwanda mayor Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu said councillors were not aware of the salary schedule since they came into office last year.
“I cannot confirm the figures off hand but it is true the highest paid gets about $16,000 per month. We didn’t know about this because we had not requested to see the schedule of salaries until the government ordered that and Gwanda is not an exception,” said Clr Ndlovu.
He confirmed council was four months behind in paying salaries. Clr Ndlovu said councillors would wait for government direction on the way forward, saying they have forwarded the salary schedule for scrutiny.
While top managers gobble the bigger chuck of the council’s revenue, ordinary councillors get allowances of about $200 while chairpersons of committees and the mayor get about $210 and $240 per month.
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