Online Reporter
Herald Correspondent
HARARE City Council (HCC) has dismissed senior manager Mr Mathew Marara after a disciplinary tribunal found him guilty of orchestrating a self-promotion scheme that cost the city over ZiG4,1 million and US$18 000 in unauthorised benefits.
Mr Marara, as the then human capital director, is said to have structured new grades at Harare City Council, awarding himself a lucrative position as the executive assistant to the town clerk.
The dismissal, confirmed in a letter dated March 11, 2026, by Acting Town Clerk Phakamile Mabhena, is effective retroactively to November 24, 2025.
The move concludes a high-stakes investigation into Marara’s tenure as Executive Assistant to the Town Clerk and acting Housing director.
The firing was carried out under Statutory Instrument 15 of 2006 after a trial chaired by an independent authority, which found him guilty on four counts of serious misconduct.
Among the charges, Mr Marara was found to have provided inappropriate or wrong advice to a council committee regarding the legal requirement to seek Local Government Board approval for senior appointments.
He also allegedly facilitated the unauthorised appointment of three senior employees, including himself, to high-ranking positions, resulting in the group receiving unauthorised benefits totalling ZiG 4 111 168.88 and US$18 362.05.
The disciplinary board concluded that Mr Marara breached the evaluation process by referring executive salary reports to an employment council that lacked jurisdiction over those positions.
He was found guilty of being absent from work for more than five working days without leave or reasonable cause after he stopped reporting for duty in early November 2024.
Mr Marara was represented during the hearings by Lunga Mazikana Attorneys, and the council has indicated it will process and pay his terminal benefits.
The firing follows a controversial year for the former director, who admitted before the Justice Maphios Cheda-led commission that he had received over US$27 000 in holiday allowances and US$3 250 for newspapers during a 30-month suspension period.
While public reports previously estimated his total compensation at US$350 000, Mr Marara maintained during the inquiry that his settlement was US$131 353,87.
According to the deed of settlement obtained by this publication, Mr Marara was entitled to a locomotion allowance, calculated using the applicable rates for Grade 2 employees, and the total amount due to him for the 30 months was US$14 399,99, which was agreed to be non-taxable.
In terms of gadget allowances, the council agreed that Mr Marara was due for three gadget issuances, including a laptop valued at US$3 700, a cell phone valued at US$2 550, and an iPad valued at US$1 920.
According to the settlement summary, the total salary and allowances payable to the employee amounted to US$61 200.
The total amount of contractual benefits payable to the employee was US$70 153,87. The total amount payable to the employee under the deed of settlement was US$131 353,87.
Mr Marara defended the perks, arguing that he was being unfairly “singled out” for receiving benefits standard for all Grade 2 council employees.
This issue surfaced after evidence presented to the Commission revealed that Acting Human Resources director Mathew Marara tendered his resignation in 2020. Despite this, Mr Marara reportedly backtracked in 2023, claiming he never left the Council and demanding back pay. While Marara recently denied his resignation under oath, a 2020 interview with The Herald confirms he previously publicly acknowledged his departure.
