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Harare City Council

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare City Council executives prejudiced council of more than $3 million in unsanctioned allowances and performance bonuses, while executives’ golden handshakes accounted for more than $6 million at a time when the city recorded huge budget deficits and service delivery had plunged to an all-time low.

Harare Water director Engineer Hosiah Chisango was appointed acting town clerk tasked with appointing officials to fill the void left by the suspended officials; acting town clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube, human capital director Dr Cainos Chingombe, Dr Prosper Chonzi (Health Services) and Tendai Kwenda (Finance).

According to the City of Harare Report of the Tribunal on the Ministerial Audit Report of June 30, 2016, the officials dipped into the Traditional Beer Levy account, using the funds to purchase top-of-the-range vehicles, while some funds were transferred to personal accounts without any explanation.

The Traditional Beer Act (Chapter 14:24) requires breweries that sell traditional beer within the jurisdiction of a local authority to pay a levy of three percent of the sales to the local authority, which is required to use the levy for welfare activities as prescribed by the Minister of Local Government.

Former town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi, the report notes, got $740 751 in unauthorised benefits, human capital director Dr Cainos Chingombe $601 080, acting town clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube $506 175, health services director Dr Prosper Chonzi $477 888, finance director Mr Tendai Kwenda $242 321, former works director Engineer Phillip Pfukwa $116 805 and former Harare Water director Eng Christopher Zvobgo $123 361.

The tribunal also revealed that generous packages were paid to 10 retrenched directors, prejudicing council of more than $6 million, while former health services director Dr Stanley Mungofa was also allocated a house at the corner of Robert Mugabe Road and Rotten Row. Dr Mungofa’s severance package also made no such reference to the cost of the allocation of both an industrial stand and a residential stand. He was paid $1 747 23, 05

Other retrenched directors include Mr Cosmas Zvikaramba (business development), who was paid $838 843,18, Mr Justine Chivavaya (housing and community services) $559,670, 82, Mr Psychology Chiwanga (urban planning services) $747,835, 74 and Mr Leslie Gwindi (corporate affairs) $530 493, 71.

Managers Mr Emmanuel Muza (waste management manager) had $408 580,30 and cemetery manager Mr Raymond Chiromo had $478 085,49 in golden handshakes.

“Individual contracts of employment did not state applicable allowances to be paid, and yet there were more than one type of allowance paid to all executives,” reads the report. “The payment of the same had a direct effect on total council costs and, as such, each allowance was part of the total remuneration budget.

“These allowances included professional allowance, retention allowance, representation allowance, entertainment allowance, contract leave allowance, housing allowance, domestic allowance, telephone allowance.”

The report says despite a ministerial directive to discontinue payment of such allowances in October 2013, the senior executives were paid the allowances in 2015.

The tribunal said the Kurasha Commission Report was taken as policy for the conditions of service for the senior executive management, and council continued using it as the basis for conditions of service, even after the introduction of the multi-currency regime in the country, and distorted the whole context of remuneration packages of the senior executive personnel.

“An amount of $389 000 was taken out of the Traditional Beer Levy account, which levies shall only fund the provision of services that include water and sanitation, health, education, recreation and other related interventions,” reads the report.