Harare mayor urges action on salary arrears

Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume has called for coordinated planning with the human resources department to address outstanding salary arrears for council employees.

The call follows updates from Alexio Chingame, representing the city's Human Resources director, who reported at a full council meeting that the council had paid the July ZiG component and is working to clear the July Nostro payments depending on available funds.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Mafume emphasized the need to prioritise lower-grade staff and address concerns such as school fees.

"We need to be sensitive and catch up with our statutory and employment obligations so that people can work," he said.
"The work that they do is life-threatening, as you have seen, and therefore we cannot continue to expect somebody to put their life on the line and fail to pay them."

In a bid to manage costs, Cllr Mafume noted that most workshops for employees have been cancelled, asking the HR chair to hold them in abeyance.

During the meeting, Cllr Denford Ngadziore of Ward 16 inquired whether recent revenue-boosting measures had improved council finances.

Acting Finance Director Mr Nhekarume confirmed there had been a noticeable impact, noting that the council's blitz operation, initially confined to the city centre, would soon extend to industrial areas, where most commercial debtors are located.

He also said that a rented properties operation, which had been underway prior to the blitz, had now been overtaken by the new revenue drive.

The mayor's remarks underscore the council's commitment to meeting its obligations to employees while continuing efforts to improve revenue collection.