GWANDA Town Council has released a proposed new salary structure that would see the town clerk getting a monthly package of $6 000 down from the astronomic $18 000 monthly remuneration that was reportedly being paid to the retired Gilbert Mlilo.
ALBERT NCUBE OWN CORRESPONDENT
The salary reviews come hard on the heels of an investigation by the Local Government ministry that senior managers in the Zanu PF-led municipality earned obscene salaries while service delivery virtually collapsed.
The top five managers, who currently earn a total of $62 826,25 per month, would take home $20 854 under the new proposal.
Workers’ salaries gobble up 75% of council revenue in violation of local government regulations that only 30% of revenue goes towards remuneration with the rest going to service delivery.
In terms of the proposed salary schedule, which was gleaned by Southern Eye, the town clerk’s monthly salary would be pegged at $3 600 down from $6 700.
The town clerk will receive a total of $2 400 in allowances adding up the monthly package to $6 000.
Mlilo’s basic pay was $6 766,37 but his take home was bumped up by numerous allowances, which included responsibility ($2 706,55) professional ($2 368,23), retention ($2 368,23), telephone ($1 014,96), cellphone allowance ($1 014,96) and housing and car benefits of $278,58.
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Mlilo was also entitled to other employee benefits not paid as cash.
The chamber secretary’s monthly package has been slashed from $10 965,97 to $4 800.
Grades D1-D5 will earn a total of between $2 128 and $4 080 while officers and supervisors will earn between $1 256 and $1 915 depending on their grades.
Municipal police and clerks will earn between $741 and $1 130, while the salary of the lowest paid council worker has been pegged at the poverty datum line of $540.
The municipality has struggled to pay its workers on time and by the end of April, it owed them over half a million dollars in unpaid salaries.
The new salaries are set to be adopted and effected sometime this month. Finance and licensing committee chairperson Johane Ncube recently told a full council meeting that current workers’ salaries were unsustainable.
