City billboards audit shocker

Municipal Reporter
AN audit of City of Harare’s billboards records has shown that council is losing millions of dollars due to poor management. Some companies are reportedly erecting billboards without paying for them. The arrears on billboards stood at $4 181 909 as at March 31 this year.

The billboards division is manned by one person. According to the recent Audit Committee minutes, the city’s audit manager Mr Joseph Issa said an audit carried out revealed that there was poor management of billboard records since the department (Works) could not avail the billboard register.

“The committee observed that the division had a potential of generating significant amount of revenue yet it was short-staffed and manned by one person. It tasked the director of works (Eng Phillip Pfukwa) to ensure that positions in this division were filled.

“It was the committee’s considered view that a workshop on the rationalisation exercise should be held to confirm whether money was saved and that competent staff was transferred to vacant positions,” read part of the minutes.

Eng Pfukwa reported that arrears had since been reduced due to the conditions stipulated in a recently advertised tender which required bidders to first clear their arrears with the city in order for them to be considered.

The committee inquired why the city could not use joint ventures in the management of billboards and the director of works reported that they were not successful. There were also allegations that some of the billboards were owned by council employees. The allegations could not be substantiated.

The committee resolved that council’s cross-functional management committee on billboards be resuscitated. It also recommended a physical count of all billboards by the city’s traffic and transportation section.

The committee also ordered that a register of all the billboards be prepared.

It said follow-ups be made on billboard owners who owe council and that the department of works pulls down all gantry signs erected on unapproved sites by Alliance Media.