News / National
CCC councilors blew US$11m on workshops in 7 months
28 Aug 2024 at 10:25hrs | Views
Incarcerated Harare town clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango, has called for external regulation of council operations after revealing that city councillors squandered over US$11 million on weekly workshops and seminars during the first seven months of the year.
Despite Harare's struggles to provide basic services like clean water, garbage collection, and road maintenance, councillors insisted on holding these workshops, often motivated by the allowances they received.
Chisango testified before a Commission of Inquiry into the council's affairs, stating that he was overruled by councillors who pressured him into prioritizing these workshops, even though he initially resisted.
He revealed that councillors, primarily from the CCC, had assumed excessive executive powers, further driving unnecessary expenditures.
Chisango suggested that external regulation is needed to curb this misuse of resources, as councillors have also interfered in city management and tender processes, which falls outside their mandate.
Additionally, Chisango noted that Harare’s financial records remain disorganized due to the council’s failure to procure an enterprise resource planning system, relying instead on a temporary Sage system since 2019.
Despite Harare's struggles to provide basic services like clean water, garbage collection, and road maintenance, councillors insisted on holding these workshops, often motivated by the allowances they received.
Chisango testified before a Commission of Inquiry into the council's affairs, stating that he was overruled by councillors who pressured him into prioritizing these workshops, even though he initially resisted.
He revealed that councillors, primarily from the CCC, had assumed excessive executive powers, further driving unnecessary expenditures.
Chisango suggested that external regulation is needed to curb this misuse of resources, as councillors have also interfered in city management and tender processes, which falls outside their mandate.
Additionally, Chisango noted that Harare’s financial records remain disorganized due to the council’s failure to procure an enterprise resource planning system, relying instead on a temporary Sage system since 2019.
Source - The Herald
