By Loyd Matare
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume on Wednesday tore into the Finance Department during a heated full council meeting at Town House, accusing officials of enabling deep-rooted corruption that is draining millions from unregulated billboard advertising while the city is reduced to scavenging for “insignificant” loose change.
Visibly angered, Mafume said the city was bleeding revenue while officials “sit and refuse to put in place a system” (ERP), allowing alleged syndicates to thrive as council receives what finance officials themselves described as “insignificant” revenue from billboards scattered across the capital.
This comes as Harare’s basic services continue to deteriorate amid allegations that some officials are thriving in the chaos they have failed to control.
“This city has got more billboards than any other city and yet no one can tell us how many we have or how much we are earning. Why do people keep sitting and refusing to have a system?” Mafume demanded.
“A company out there is charging US$2 000 per month per billboard, and the city is getting US$80.
“…then someone here comes with an analysis that says we should not bring order into this issue. You are facilitating fraud,” he charged.
The Finance Department, however, confirmed during the meeting that revenue from billboards was “insignificant,” shocking councillors who pointed to the rapid mushrooming of outdoor advertising along Harare’s major roads and business corridors.
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“We are seeing millions of billboards and we are getting what equals to zero. How does that happen?” Mafume asked.
The mayor said the resistance to implementing a digital revenue tracking system pointed to deliberate sabotage by beneficiaries of disorder.
“No one wants a system because they are getting rich without a system…do we have an officer in charge of this unit? What is that unit doing if the revenue is insignificant? Who is paying their salaries?” he asked.
“That is why I want a system (ERP). So that when a billboard is not paid up, we go and cut it down, we have a tree-cutting department they should be cutting down unpaid billboards instead.”
The mayor warned that Harare was losing what could be one of its biggest revenue streams, arguing that even a single stadium could generate nearly US$500 000 per month from advertising alone.
“Just one stadium, just advertising, can give you close to US$500 000 a month. And here we are getting zero. This is unacceptable,” he said.
He also instructed the Business, Works and Finance departments to immediately move in and restore order, stressing that the city could no longer afford delays.
“Please, let them start work immediately. We can’t afford to keep it looking like this,” he said.
