Council lays off 1 000

Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council retrenched more than 1 000 workers yesterday, with town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi meeting those affected to deliver the message. Other workers whose positions were given higher grades in the old set up would see the grades being lowered.
Harare recently collapsed several departments in a new structure expected to be effective, resulting in some directors becoming redundant.

So far, city treasurer Mr Misheck Mubvumbi, business development manager Mr Cosmas Zvikaramba, housing and community services manager Mr Justine Chivavaya,

urban planning services manager Mr Psychology Chiwanga, Dr Stanley Mungofa (health) and director amenities Mr Dombo Chibanda have been sent packing.

Dr Mahachi, human capital director Dr Cainos Chingombe, chamber secretary Ms Josephine Ncube, engineering services boss Eng Philip Pfukwa and Dr Prosper Chonzi (health) would be the remaining directors.

Deputy directors whose departments have been collapsed would be redeployed to the created departments while the city is in the process of rationalising the water department.

Dr Mahachi yesterday said: “It is a rationalisation exercise that is meant to bring cost effectiveness and efficiency”.

In the collapsed departments, housing and community services and the Chamber Secretary’s office will form corporate services; while engineering services, waste management and urban planning now fall under the department of works.

The new structure will comprise the departments of Corporate Services, Finance, Health, Human Resources and Public Safety and Works.

A total of 1 190 ordinary employees — including 10 middle managers — to be retrenched would gobble millions more as the city begins rationalising its workforce and slashing its salary bill.

Remuneration was consuming more than half of Harare’s revenue until Government directed a pay cut for all local authorities and parastatal bosses.

Harare councillors recently approved the trimming of the number of council directors, reducing the complement of middle managers and the retrenchment of the workers.
The city has 45 middle managers and an overall workforce of 6 348.

The city’s 18 directors were gobbling over US$500 000 in salaries monthly at a time service delivery plummeted to levels where the municipality could not replace street light bulbs.