Thaba Moyo, the Mayor of Bulawayo, told The Zimbabwean that councillors in Bulawayo met with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently to discuss their welfare.
“We asked the government to improve our welfare since we have almost the same functions as our MPs,” said Moyo.
Several councillors interviewed said that because of poor working conditions many had been forced into corruption. While the government splashed out almost $20 million on ministers recently, municipal office bearers have been overlooked.
One mayor, who asked not to be named, said that the government should consider that mayors, though ceremonial, perform more duties than MPs who earn $1000 a month in addition to various sitting allowances.
While bigger municipalities such as Harare have better perks for councillors, with the mayor driving top-of-the-range vehicles, rural councillors live like paupers as they do not have the same benefits and sometimes have to travel long distances on foot to carry out their duties.
The GNU has been silent on the welfare of mayors, who have been reduced by the Minister of Local Government Rural and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo to ceremonial heads, after the MDC took all urban councils.
Elected Councillors of Zimbabwe (ECZ) president, Worship Dumba, said the welfare of councillors should be reviewed immediately, and should revert to the pre-MDC era when Zanu (PF) councillors both in rural and urban areas enjoyed multiple benefits.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News