THE government last week released a new set of figures concerning salaries of heads of urban and rural councils that in some instances were much lower than those given out by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa in March.
Councils that were hanged out to dry by Chinamasa included Plumtree, Victoria Falls and Beitbridge for allegedly overpaying their top management.
However, now that the government has a clearer picture of what is going on at councils, it should come up with a sound remuneration policy that is not driven by emotions.
The temporary salary cap of $6 000 imposed by Chinamasa was rather arbitrary and may not achieve the necessary goals.
Besides it is a minefield for local authorities that may try to implement it because it has several implications for employment contracts they already have with their workers.
There is also the spectre of brain drain that looms large in most of these councils and State enterprises. The cheap argument has been that these experts can be replaced easily as Zimbabwe has thousands of unemployed graduates.
Running an organisation efficiently requires much more than university or college qualifications. Experience is critical and it can only be acquired by being on the job for some time.
Another interesting aspect of the list submitted to the National Assembly by the Local Government ministry is the huge gap that exists between salaries of chief executive officers from one rural district council to another.
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For example the Beitbridge Rural District Council chief executive officer is the highest paid in the country with a total monthly package of $5 209,76.
Other district councils pay less than $2 000 a month.
Although the salary of a chief executive officer would be determined by the size of the concerned local authority’s revenue budget, there is need for the government to have a standard policy on remuneration to guide councils.
The excitement over the obscene salaries seems to have died down, but the government must not take its eyes off the ball.
