Govt sets salaries for BCC employees
Refuses to approve 2016 budget Orders PDL guided salaries for lowest paid
THE Government has capped the salary for Bulawayo City Council town clerk at $7 400 down from $9 000 while it has ordered the local authority to pay its lowest paid employee a salary in line with the poverty datum line.
In addition, the Government has refused to approve the council’s 2016 budget arguing that BCC was still struggling to meet stipulated thresholds of ensuring that 70 percent of revenue goes to service delivery while 30 percent goes to salaries.
BCC is in the process of finalising the recruitment of a substantive town clerk after the death of Mr Middleton Nyoni. Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, who is the Chamber Secretary, is the acting town clerk.
According to a circular sent to the local authority, dated 5 May 2016, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Engineer George Mlilo wrote that the ministry had realised that most local authorities were paying unsustainable salaries and allowances to their top executives hence the need to prescribe salaries for them.
“After realisation that local authorities are paying unsustainable salaries and allowances at the expense of basic service delivery the Government seeks to rationalise the remuneration for all local authorities’ employees. With immediate effect your inclusive total pay package shall not exceed $7 400. The salary benefits ratio must be 60:40 percent. The value of all allowances and other benefits that accrue to you must not exceed 40 percent of the total package as given. This ratio must also be applied to total pay packages of council employees across all grades,” reads part of the letter.
Eng Mlilo, who hand delivered the circular at the council offices, further ordered that the least paid council employee must get a salary which is in line with the poverty datum line.
“The Government has come up with a remuneration framework for heads of local authorities which should then be cascaded down using a differential that will allow a minimum total pay package that is in line with the poverty datum line for the least paid employee. Your budgeting and resource utilisation planning must recognise this new remuneration framework so as to achieve the required 70 percent service delivery as to 30 percent salaries ratio benchmark,” reads the letter.
Zimbabwe’s poverty datum line is pegged at slightly more than $500.
A council confidential revealed that due to this directive by the parent ministry, Eng Mlilo had refused to approve the council’s 2016 budget insisting “that the Bulawayo City Council should rationalise salaries and allowances in line with the letter.”
However, addressing journalists during a media consultative meeting, the city’s financial director, Mr Kimpton Ndimande confirmed that the local authority was in a financial crisis as they were collecting way below their projected figure. He said there was a need for consumers to honour their debts because this would go a long way in boosting revenue and ensuring that service delivery was not affected.