Municipal Reporter
Government has deployed auditors at the cash-strapped Harare City Council to carry out a remuneration head count to sniff out ghost workers.The auditors have since started work and are perusing files for every worker.

The audit follows a report by the Comptroller and Auditor-General Ms Mildred Chiri that unearthed irregularities in the operations of local authorities.

The irregularities included payment of ghost workers, corruption in allocation of stands and the hefty salaries awarded to management.

The city’s human capital and public safety director Dr Cainos Chingombe confirmed the presence of Grant Thornton Camelsa Auditors at Town House.

“Government through the Auditor General appointed the audit firm to carry out a remuneration head count to find out whether council workers are authentically employed and whether there are any ghosts workers on our payroll,” he said.

“The audit is not being carried out on Harare only but all local authorities, parastatals and State enterprises. Auditors go to each director and other employees asking for employment details and pay slips.”

He said the auditors first look at the payroll and then go to various departments to check if the workers on the payroll are genuinely employed by the city.

Dr Chingombe said they have recalled workers who were on leave so that they can also be counted.

The city’s Human Resources and General Purposes Committee chairperson councillor Wellington Chikombo said the audit was not a witch hunt.

“It is not a witch hunt.  It is meant to know who is who in council and to ascertain whether the wage bill is tallying with the manpower we have on the ground.

“The head count will also help in verifying whether we have the right people in critical areas especially after the rationalisation process,” he said.

 

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