Zimbabwe: Harare City Council's Bloated Workforce Under Scrutiny - Finance Department Alone Has 700 Workers

23 January 2025
New Zimbabwe (London)
By Darlington Gatsi

HARARE City Council is facing a financial crisis due to its bloated workforce which exceeds 10,000 employees and includes numerous duplicate roles, ultimately shortchanging the ratepayers by hindering the delivery of basic services to the residents.

This was revealed Wednesday at the ongoing Commission of Inquiry which is probing the operations of Harare City Council from the period of 2017 to date.

Harare City Council is burdened by the high costs of salaries which consume a large portion of the revenue that is generated by the municipality.

Interestingly, the finance department at HCC employs more than 700 workers. Despite this large workforce, the financial system of HCC is in shambles.

HCC Executive Assistant to the Town Clerk, Mathew Marara, admitted before the Commission, chaired by retired Justice Maphios Cheda, that the workforce is excessively large.

"Even 300 is bloated. Yes, the percentage that goes towards salaries each month exceeds the limits that are prescribed by the government," said Marara.

HCC is plagued by allegations of bad governance and maladministration failing to carry out its mandate.

The situation is further exacerbated by City Council officials and Councillors who are influencing recruitment, inflating the wage bill at the Town House.

"What happens is when you come up with the structures for the organisation, departments recommend the number of personnel and type of personnel they require.

"They recommend these to the human capital department and the human capital department writes reports to the Council to recommend a change in the structure of the organisation. It is the Council which authorises the structure which will be implemented," said Marara.

HCC currently has more than 70 drivers responsible for refuse collection, but most of them are idle due to a shortage of vehicles.

Marara said the only solution is to reduce the number of workers at the HCC.

"Council needs to undergo a restructuring exercise but this restructuring can not be undertaken by the current council because on a number of occasions we had recommended reduction in numbers but it has not happened. Definitely, the numbers need to be reduced," he said.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 New Zimbabwe. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.