City Council HR Committee Under Fire for Ignoring Govt Salary Cut Directive

By Loyd Matare

City of Harare’s Human Resources (HR) Committee is facing backlash for ignoring a government directive to slash exorbitant salaries for senior council officials.

The controversy reached a boiling point last week during a full council meeting, where Mayor Jacob Mafume confronted Human Capital Development Director Bossman Matengarufu over his failure to act on the order.

During a commission of inquiry early this year, it emerged that the council was spending approximately US$500,000 per month on executive salaries.

The Town Clerk, takes home a staggering US$27,000 per month, which can increase to US$30,000 with perks, while the least-paid executive earns US$15,000—with none of these salary structures been approved by the Local Government Board, which subsequently instructed the council to align its grading system and salaries with government-approved guidelines.

However, implementation of the directive has stalled, with allegations of dishonesty and resistance from senior officials.

During the council meeting, Mayor Mafume accused Matengarufu of deliberately ignoring the government’s directive, leading to a heated exchange.

The debate started as Matengarufu denied receiving any communication regarding the salary cuts, prompting an outburst from the mayor.

“That is what he always does! He is always challenging me,” Mafume fumed.

When councillors demanded clarification, Town Clerk Phakamile Mabhena Moyo confirmed that he had indeed handed Matengarufu a letter instructing him to begin the restructuring process.

Despite this, Matengarufu maintained that he was unaware of the directive, leading to further frustration among councillors, who insisted on his accountability.

Following mounting pressure and overwhelming evidence, Matengarufu was ultimately forced to apologize for misleading the council.

The matter was escalated to a special council meeting, where tempers flared over the apparent delay in implementing the salary reductions.

Some councillors accused senior management of intentionally stalling the process to maintain their inflated salaries and benefits.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mayor Mafume reiterated the council’s position, stating that the HR committee had been given clear instructions to implement salary cuts immediately.

“We mandated during the last council meeting that the HR committee deal with cutting down the salaries. I had suggested freezing the salaries, but that was shut down on account of labor laws or interpretations of those laws within the council,” Mafume said.

He expressed concern that continued payment of the inflated salaries had fueled resistance to the cuts.

“So, we’ve given a strict order to the HR committee to cut the salaries from US$27,000 to a more reasonable level and to address the perks associated with those salaries.

“Yes, we must offer competitive wages, but we also need to consider the city’s performance, its size, and the economic context.

“The idea that someone can take home US$27,000 per month is amoral and out of touch with the reality we are operating in, especially for a public institution like ours,” he said.

Mafume further stated that the restructuring exercise had been condemned by the Local Government Board, and some individuals resisting the directive were direct beneficiaries of the current salary structure.

“This reluctance and the feigned ignorance we are seeing are a result of personal interests. But this situation has cost the council a lot of money, and it must be reversed in line with the directives of the Local Government Board,” he added.

The council is now under pressure to implement the salary cuts, with stakeholders calling for urgent action to rectify the unsustainable financial burden caused by the bloated executive pay structure.