GWERU mayor Hamutendi Kombayi has admitted that salaries were gobbling up much of the city council’s revenue base and impacting negatively on service delivery. OWN CORRESPONDENT
Speaking at a Media Institute of Southern Africa Press Club discussion on “Access to Information: A tool for accountability, transparency and development” in Gweru yesterday, Kombayi said salaries were chewing up a huge chunk of council’s income and this impacted on other activities.
“Though it is an unfortunate scenario, salaries are gobbling a huge portion of the revenue base,” Kombayi said.
He said his council was committed to coming up with income generating projects to widen the revenue base. Gweru unveiled a $36 168 154 budget for 2014 with salaries and allowances taking $13 767 018 or 38% of the proposed expenditure.
Although the budget dropped by 40% from last year, council is still struggling to maintain staff costs within its projected threshold of 30% of the total revenue budget.
