Chitungwiza Municipality workers representatives Ephraim Katsina (centre), Tamson Bamusi (right) and Ngonidzashe Marau before the Public Service and Social Welfare parliamentary committee in Harare yesterday. — Picture by Tawanda Mudimu
Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
The Chitungwiza Municipality could have been swindled $10 million with council employees yesterday alleging that management was failing to account for revenue collected in January and February 2013.
The allegations were made by the Chitungwiza Municipality Workers’ Union, which also said management misrepresented to Government its wage bill.
The workers said management was running secret accounts and a parallel payroll, which they used to pay themselves handsomely.
The council has 1 663 general workers in grades 1 to 12 and 18 others in grades 13 to 16.
Workers representatives made the claims before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, also calling on Government to institute a forensic audit into the council’s affairs.
“Between January 2013 and February 2014 the municipality collected $14 653 428,55 and out of that US$14 million between January and April 2013 and August 2013, they paid $4 521 132,46 in salaries and then the balance of $10 132 296,04 we don’t know where it went,” said CMWU chairperson Mr Ephraim Katsina.
He said all this happened as service delivery continued to deteriorate while workers’ salary arrears now topped 11 months.
“The directors have a secret account which caters for their welfare. The name of the account is CM Special Account (Account Number 06170041940697 at a local bank),” Mr Katsina said.
He said the parallel payroll and secret accounts were being managed by Ms Mary Rashamira Mukonyora, whom they said was acting as human resources director without Government approval.
Mr Katsina said managers were abusing Public Service Investment Programme accounts with FBC Bank, Kingdom Bank and MetBank to hide secret payments to themselves.
He said directors disregarded a resolution by a Government-appointed resuscitation team to slash salaries.
“When the resuscitation team came at the beginning of 2012, a resolution was made that the directors and managers salaries be subjected to disallowances in view of the fact that they had been given unsustainable salaries with effect from July 2011.
“The directors and managers were issued with pay slips which indicated that their salaries were $0,00. However, the directors and mangers were actually paid their outrageous salaries behind the back, ranging from $12 000 to $31 000 . . . paid out of the Kingdom Bank account. Payslips for the same period, however, show that the directors and managers did not earn any salary at the time,” Mr Katsina said.
According to documents presented to the committee yesterday, town planner Mr Conrad Muchesa was paid US$31 393,81 on January 23, 2012; while a certain Musiyiwa got $12 594,47 and a Gavi pocketed $12 749,31. Town clerk Mr George Makunde received $16 500 in January and March 2013.
Other unnamed senior managers allegedly got up to $33 000. The workers also said following Government’s directive that cellphone, domestic workers, retention and entertainment allowances — among others — be removed in 2011, council inflated basic salaries to circumvent this. Mr Katsina added that in January 2014, management transferred $40 000, $90 867,33, $15 500, $27 100, $35 000 and $25 000 to themselves.
“All in all for January they received $233 467,33 while they claim the salary bill for managers is $35 000,” he said.
Mr Katsina said council applied for a Government grant of $1,7 million to pay salary arrears in December 2013 but allegedly manipulated the salary structure when they were asked to provide the breakdown on how this was paid. This allegedly included altering names, grades and qualifications.
The salary list given to Government by management had inflated figures for low-level employees and included payments to eight vacant senior managers’ posts.
Council wrote to Government seeking authority to fill the vacant offices on January 2 this year.
Mr Katsina also said managers allocated themselves 600 litres fuel for the festive season, while officials responsible for road maintenance got 10 litres each.
He said efforts to alert councillors and mayor Mr Phillip Mutoti had been in vain because they did not believe what the workers alleged.