HARARE City Council (HCC) has dismissed claims that US$11,2 million was spent on workshops, instead revealing that just US$2,1 million is the correct figure according to its accounting records.
The follows claims by incarcerated HCC Town Clerk, Hosiah Chisango this week to the Commission of Inquiry into HCC's affairs that over US$11 million could have been gobbled on workshops in the first seven months of the year.
No concrete documents to substantiate the claims have been shared with the public on the matter.
However, addressing a Full Council meeting Thursday, Harare Mayor Advocate Jacob Mafume shared a financial record on the status of workshops which proved the amount spent was much lesser, with the bulk being made up of internal staff-related programs.
"Contrary to what is appearing in newspapers that at some point we gobbled US$11,2 million on trips. The list has all the details on the trips that were attended by councillors and officials from January to July 2024.
"They are public records combining inductions, international and local trips. After the calculations, we reduced all the amounts in ZW$ converted to ZiG. The amounts were then equated in US$. The document was prepared by the Finance Department and presented to me under oath. The figures presented summed up to US$2,1 million in line with the obtaining exchange rate on the day of calculation," he said.
Mafume challenged stakeholders to appreciate the fact that once there has been an election, induction workshops become inevitable.
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He said currently, the City has 59 Councilors according to the new Constitution and 14 were added through the Proportional Representation making convening of workshops mandatory. He also highlighted that some of the workshops are convened by the workers as they deliberate on Collective Bargaining.
"According to a Circular from the Government, Councilors are entitled to ZW$10 allowance and not ZiG but bond notes. In fact, a driver who takes me to attend a workshop earns much more than I get. Councillors don't even make up the bulk of expenses incurred at these workshops," he said.
He castigated fellow Councilors for not knowing things by the head whenever they were asked and said such weaknesses needed to come to an end.
"You people must know your organization from the top of your heads. Every time you are asked a question, you will say I will provide an answer later. As a result, you will end up confirming things that are not accurate.
"I have said this from time to time that if you are an official for the City of Harare, you must have the information when you are asked right at the tip of your fingers. This also helps us to have confidence in you," said Mafume.
He added that HCC doesn't even have the money to afford basic services and would not be reckless to spend recklessly on workshops.
