BULAWAYO has always been regarded as the cleanest city in Zimbabwe in terms of aesthetics and hygiene in Zimbabwe.
It has also been hailed as the best managed city and has rarely been tainted by corruption, which has become the order of the day in other municipalities over the years.
Therefore, that the salary schedule of the city council obtained by Southern Eye that shows the local’s authority’s remuneration for top directors pales in comparison to that of Harare does not come as a surprise.
There is heightened interest in what executives at local authorities and parastatals earn following the sensational revelations that Harare’s 18 directors and town clerk were gobbling $500 000 in salaries per month.
However, according to the salary schedule in our possession, Bulawayo diretcors earn an average of $9 000 per month.
Town clerk Middleton Nyoni is the highest earner at City Hall with a salary of $9 439, 19.
His Harare counterpart Tendai Mahachi had reportedly been earning a staggering $37 000 before the salary was slashed to $14 847 and $2 500 for housing allowances.
The Bulawayo City councillors who had demanded the salary schedule were even surprised by the modest remuneration the directors get.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
It is refreshing that in the midst of the madness in parastatals and local authorities — which could be traced to the time Zimbabwe switched to the multi-currency system in 2009 — there are some executives who are prepared to put service delivery ahead of self-aggrandisement.
Scandals are being exposed everywhere where executives in strategic state enterprises not only paid themselves obscene salaries, but also stole from the public entities.
As the anger over the debauchery at Harare City Council, Air Zimbabwe, Premier Service Medical Aid Society and many other parastatals that are yet to be exposed boils, it would be useful to reflect over what is obtaining in Bulawayo.
If all executives at these strategic institutions were as straightforward as those running Bulawayo City Council, this country would not even have any business moaning about sanctions.
