Masvingo short staffed

Walter Mswazie in Masvingo

MASVINGO City Council is failing to effectively deliver services due to staff shortages, amid reports that 40 percent of positions have not been filled.

This comes in the wake of reports that the local authority has not been able to audit its books for the past three years due to absence of an internal auditor.

Like any quasi-government department, the recruitment of key positions is controlled by the Central Government, in this case the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.

In an interview, Masvingo Mayor Councillor Collen Maboke said the situation was seriously affecting day-to-day administration work of council as some decisions were now taking long before being passed.

“We are somewhat handicapped as Masvingo City due to shortage of staff. We do not have full complement of staff as we are operating at 60 percent and that gap is evident in critical departments like accounts,” said Clr Maboke.

He said while the challenges were beyond council’s control, management was still answerable when some targets are not met.

“The unfortunate part of it is that residents would always need their services and yet the manpower is not at the expected level.

“There should be no excuses because those few are supposed to cover the gaps. As it is, council has a serious backlog on audited account books as the last audit was done in 2015.

“This is due to the fact that there were three key posts within accounts department which were not filled.

“We could not do anything, as the matter was controlled by the central Government,” he said

Clr Maboke however, said council was working on recruiting a full time public relations officer who would interface with residents and stakeholders.

“We have already shortlisted people for interviews and anytime soon, we will call the applicants.

“Once there is a public relations officer, our communication with residents and other stakeholders will be easier. The media will also benefit because we will have an information person,” he said. 

@walterbmswazie2