REPORTS that Harare town clerk Tendai Mahachi continues to refuse to respect the authority of Parliament are indicative of a public official who has turned himself into a rogue.
NewsDay Editorial
It is this kind of attitude that has led to the Sunshine City status of the country’s capital fading over the years as Town House officials refuse to respect elected officials who represent the will of their electors — the people.
Instead, Mahachi and his cohort at Town House have chosen to take orders from Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo who has continued to protect them. The unholy alliance between Chombo and Mahachi has rendered elected councillors useless in the face of many challenges that council should address.
It is important to remind Speaker of the House of Assembly Jacob Mudenda to be seized with such matters as Mahachi’s failure to respect Parliament. Should Mahachi be charged with contempt of Parliament, it may serve as a lesson to all ruling party activists or supporters failing to draw the line between their professions and politics.
It is sad that Mahachi on Tuesday was ordered by MPs to bring his current payslip to the House after he — for the second time in a fortnight — failed to give convincing answers pertaining to salaries and allowances given to top council executives.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, led by Mutasa South MP Irene Zindi (Zanu PF), had demanded Mahachi’s payslip to verify reports that he was getting an entertainment allowance and yet council was paying separately for most of the guests entertained at his residence.
Mahachi needs to be reminded that it is important for him to provide his payslip and records of salary negotiations to prove that the allowances paid to him and members of his executive team had council approval.
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This will help Parliament to provide policy direction regarding abuse of State institutions to the detriment of the citizens.
Parliament also needs to send a strong message to like-minded people by charging such individuals with contempt so that they can be severely dealt with going forward. The huge salaries that most top officials in State corporations earn do not match service delivery, giving the impression that the officials are selfish in some way.
If indeed Mahachi and many others are trustworthy as they would want the country to believe, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to supply all the information that is required by the MPs, for this should be public information.
Mahachi was suspended by mayor Bernard Manyenyeni over the same issue last month, but Chombo immediately intervened and lifted the suspension.
Harare is the seat of government and its affairs must reflect what happens countrywide. So Parliament must deal with skeletons at Town House to improve service delivery.
