Chronicle Editor
THE findings, contained in an audit report on Harare City Council that was instigated by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, have without doubt showed that city directors are totally disinterested in ensuring service delivery and are only concerned with serving their selfish interests.The city directors have ignored Government directive to reduce salaries and allowances and continued to earn mega salaries. As if that was not enough, they continued to receive their huge holiday allowances at a time the workforce had gone for months without salaries. The directors do not inspire confidence in the residents at all as their actions paint the picture of greedy and selfish people whose major interest in council is to line up their pockets.
It is always about them; their welfare, their salaries and allowances and never about service delivery and workers’ welfare. Their primary concern is to ensure that they get their fat salaries and allowances at whatever cost even if it means workers go for months without salaries and service delivery is left unattended. We doubt very much if these are the right people to take our city, Harare, back to its Sunshine status.
Our roads are pathetic, water has become a scarce commodity, refuse collection ceased a long time ago in many suburbs, the city centre itself is in a sorry state yet council directors continue to enjoy obscene salaries and allowances. These people are supposed to be in office to serve the city and the residents and not to serve their own interests.
Authorities need to take action very fast otherwise the city will continue sliding with such calibre of directors in office. The audit, among many other things, revealed that the five or so directors awarded themselves $60 000 holiday allowances at a time the workers had gone for five months without salaries. It does not bother the directors at all so long their own interests are being served.
There are certain actions that are morally wrong and as directors tasked with running the affairs of the city, they are expected to be exemplary and show leadership acumen.
Council is in its current state because of the lack of visionary leadership. It is honestly mind boggling that the financially hamstrung council has the audacity to write off $2 million advertising debts because it failed to keep proper records on billboard advertising. This is the same council that has threatened residents with water disconnection for not paying their bills.
Clearly everything is wrong with the city directors and we believe efforts to restore the city to its Sunshine status can never succeed with them. The audit has shown that the directors are very good at looking after themselves, making sure they work and live comfortably.
Probably those are the terms of their jobs. We could be asking for too much to ask them to attend to service delivery when it is not contained in their contracts of work.
Whichever way one looks at it, there is an urgent need for the Government to act fast to ensure we have directors in council that have sleepless nights over service delivery and not over how much they will get in salaries and allowances.
We would have thought that clever directors would religiously attend to issues of service delivery round the clock, which would easily justify their huge salaries and allowances.
Online Reporter