Mayor outraged over poor remuneration of staff

Fiona Mpofu 

The mayor of Bulawayo, Senator David Coltart has expressed concerns over the poor remuneration of council staff members. 

While addressing a stakeholders budget consultation meeting at the Bulawayo Large city hall, the mayor revealed that the staff are still paid in the Zimbabwean local currency. 

“Salaries that our staff members receive are paid in Zimbabwean dollars. If we are to have a dedicated workforce, a motivated workforce, we need to be paying our staff members as much as possible in United States Dollars (USD),” said the mayor. 

He also brought to light the meagre monthly allowances that councillors get at the  end of every month, adding that the fee is too little to cater for their travelling costs. 

“Our body of councillors who have been elected to serve you are actually doing this at great sacrifice. You are not going to believe this figure but it is true. Every councillor who is here today gets paid a USD $22 allowance per month.” 

Coltart highlighted that the council’s number one priority is the health system of the city’s population and the city in general. According to the mayor, to address the water situation in the city, the Nyamandlovu pipeline that is currently operating at roughly 10% capacity needs attention.

“Tied to that are our sewerage works which at present are running at something like 20% capacity, we urgently need to direct money towards those sewerage works,” said the mayor. 

He added that the council’s budget is greatly affected by inflation coupled with the  use of the Zimbabwean dollar. 

“We can’t budget in Zimbabwean dollars for the ambulances we need to purchase or the refuse vehicles that we need to purchase because we do not pay for those in Zimbabwe dollars.”