Councillors skip meetings over 'low' allowances

Bulawayo councillors are reportedly failing to attend key council committee meetings, with some citing low sitting allowances and inadequate fuel allocations as reasons for their absence.

The issue was raised in a confidential council report dated June 25, 2026, which highlighted what it described as a "concerning trend" of councillors failing to attend committee-level meetings.

According to the report, Chamber Secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou reminded councillors that they are required under local authority regulations, including the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), to attend Full Council and Standing Committee meetings where municipal affairs are deliberated.

However, some councillors reportedly complained that the current sitting allowances were too low to adequately motivate them to attend committee meetings.

Council is currently guided by a July 15, 2025 circular issued by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, which sets sitting allowances at US$177 for ordinary councillors, US$195 for the Deputy Mayor and US$212 for the Mayor.

The current rates represent a departure from the previous arrangement, under which councillors' allowances were linked to the salary of a Grade One council employee.

Councillor Siboniso Moyo reportedly raised concerns over fuel allocations, saying councillors were struggling to attend all council and committee meetings because the fuel provided was inadequate.

"It was becoming difficult for the Councillors to attend all the Council/Committee meetings because of inadequate fuel allocations," the report stated.

Moyo reportedly proposed that either the fuel allocation or the corresponding allowance should be increased.

Another councillor, Sikhululekile Moyo, supported efforts to improve councillors' welfare but raised reservations over a proposal to provide motorcycles to councillors.

She pointed to experiences in other local authorities where councillors had allegedly failed to repay motorcycle loans and argued that Bulawayo should adopt a similar arrangement rather than expose the council to potential financial losses.

The report noted that councillors' allowances are regulated under Section 112(1) of the Urban Councils Act, which empowers a municipal or town council to pay personal allowances to councillors, subject to approval by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works.

Following the deliberations, council resolved that councillors should once again be paid according to the previous allowance structure, which was linked to the salary of a Grade One council employee.

The resolution will now be submitted to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works for consideration and approval.

The developments come amid wider concerns over councillor attendance and the financial demands associated with carrying out municipal duties, with council expected to balance the welfare of elected officials against its broader financial obligations and service delivery responsibilities.