Harare City Council officials continue to pocket hefty salaries

Despite mounting public criticism and repeated promises of reform, senior officials at the Harare City Council continue to earn hefty salaries, raising serious concerns about misplaced priorities and poor service delivery in the capital.

A significant portion of the Municipality's revenues is reportedly being consumed by salaries for top executives based at Town House, leaving little room for the improvement of critical services such as waste collection, water supply, and road maintenance.

Earlier this year, a Commission of Inquiry investigating the Council's operations revealed that approximately half a million dollars is spent monthly on salaries for senior personnel. The findings sparked outrage among residents and civil society groups, who accused council leaders of enriching themselves while the city crumbles under deteriorating infrastructure and mounting garbage piles.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume, who had earlier pledged to slash the bloated wage bill, expressed frustration during a recent Council meeting over the slow progress in implementing salary cuts.

"Secret salaries, secret interviews, secret things are not procedural. I don't know where you get these things," Mafume fumed. "We need you to get the reports. I told you the last time, please decrease these salaries."

Mafume said that officials were overcomplicating a simple matter and treating the issue with unnecessary bureaucracy instead of urgency.

"You will get quicker results, and people started reasoning like lawyers in this meeting. It is simple: you freeze these salaries, set a deadline, agree on a ceiling of the maximum salaries, and in five days you have a resolution. Anyone who disagrees can take us to court," he said.

Residents and watchdog groups have continued to call out the Council for prioritizing elite salaries over basic services. The Mafume-led administration has faced harsh criticism for its failure to address the capital's declining living standards, from broken sewage systems to uncollected refuse and erratic water supplies.

The Council has previously blamed the ongoing economic instability and the fluctuating local currency for the service delivery breakdowns. However, it has largely remained silent on why it continues to approve substantial remuneration packages for its top brass.

"Every time I am being asked on Twitter and everywhere about where we stand with the issue of salaries. I have no answer," Mafume admitted. "But we spoke to them a month ago. Let us cut those salaries and see."

As residents grow increasingly impatient, the spotlight remains firmly on Town House to prove it can prioritize public needs over personal perks. Whether meaningful reforms will follow, or if the wage saga will persist, remains to be seen.