Govt probes Mutare council

THE Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing has reportedly sent an audit team to probe Mutare City Council's payroll, amid reports of ghost workers and allegations that managers were receiving salaries on time, yet the local authority is struggling to pay low grade workers their wages since 2013.

The team which began work on December 7 and finished on December 18 also investigated the council's medical aid scheme, which was believed to have lost thousands of dollars through dubious transactions.

Mutare Mayor, Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, said the team did its work and council awaits its findings.

"This follows several complaints and rumours about ghost workers at the Civic Centre as well as concerns by some sections of our workforce that managers were up to date with their salaries, yet low grade workers were not being paid anything for years. There were also complaints about the operation of our medical aid scheme which some councillors believed was being abused and siphoned of thousands of dollars," he said.

Council is struggling to pay its workforce owing to financial bottlenecks that are being caused by defaulting ratepayers and a litany of reasons that are stifling income generation.

The local authority is yet to pay some of its workers their 2013 salaries, a situation that has led many to think that money is being siphoned.