THE cash-strapped Mutare City Council is considering to embark on a massive restructuring exercise which will also see some workers retrenched, while others would work for two weeks each month as the local authority battles to reduce its wage bill.
BY KENNETH NYANGANI
The council owes its employees over 12 months’ salaries.
The new austerity measures were announced by town clerk Obert Muzawazi last Thursday after he was grilled by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo over salary arrears.
“The wage bill is not sustainable and we have an option of workers coming two work just two weeks per month, that will be half a month if we fail to find something that is in the confines of the law,” Muzawazi said
City treasurer Lloyd Musasa added: “The wage bill in terms of inflows is not sustainable, as a result we are accruing arrears every month and we need to reduce the wage bill. We have programmes we need to introduce to deal with the matter. We need to restructure the entire organisation but it will not be easybecause we need funding because it involves the laying off of redundant workers.”
He added: “We are also looking forward to the revaluation of properties so as to increase the revenue base as to meet our requirements and the other one has already been said by town clerk for our workers to work only for half a month.”
