Part II of my gripes with His Excellency E.D. Mnangagwa following his unfortunate, partisan utterances about MDCA urban local authorities.
Source: Harare City Council Crisis- Former Mayor Ben Manyenyeni Takes On Emmerson Mnangagwa – The Zimbabwean
Ben Manyenyeni
If the President’s Government allows Harare City Council to freely choose the Chief Executive to get grass cut and garbage carted the job gets done. He who pays the piper calls the tune – Town House executives are your people.
It’s your dudes in charge, Shumba!
Blaming the MDCA when you have the say in who can or cannot be in the TOP EIGHT at Harare City Council management shows REAL power.
Which team will win when its strikers are chosen by the opponent team coach?
This is the Gvt that denied me the chance to employ a Town Clerk who was:
a). Ex-Partner of global Big 4 audit firm
b). Past President of the Institute of Bankers of Zimbabwe
c). Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe.
d) Ex-Chief Executive of a ZSE-listed Bank.
Any capital city in the world would have been impressed enough by JUST ONE of the above credentials – but not our ZanuPF’s capital City – never!
ZanuPF solution to the crisis – ARREST THE MAYOR!
If the President’s Gvt did not grant Council salary levels which are THREE times the market rates for similar jobs then money to deliver service would be there. (See old graph attached). The total cost of this OVERPAYMENT was nearly $500m in 6 or so years.
Just 1% of this salary overpayment figure would have bought enough (47) garbage trucks to serve Harare for SEVEN years.
Now we hear there’s only 12 running!
If the President’s Gvt did not write-off over $300m due to council (equivalent to 2 years revenue) council wouldn’t be so broke. Ratepayers would still be giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – not this current 32%.
How many organisations – public or private – can survive without 2 whole years’ worth of revenue??
Do the maths – I have watched nearly ONE BILLION dollars abused by ZanuPF at Harare City Council in 5 years!
If the President’s Gvt allowed Mayors to lead councils safely and with dignity of office and execution THE BEST brains in the country would sacrifice their jobs to serve as mayors. In a normal country doing proper things being Mayor of the capital city should be the best job in the land with it’s fine mix of politics, community service and business management – no doubt.
If you tamper with this delicate equilibrium – as this Gvt enjoys doing – it becomes the most difficult job in Zimbabwe – very quickly!
The most recent 3 mayors of Harare have been arrested in office.
Now that mayoral abuse is standard the next election must attract someone ready for arrest or similar agony only a street-kid or stone-thrower will run for Mayor.
I have a family which freaks out at any hint of me ever serving public station again.
Harare’s premium options for Mayor are not going to lose/leave their professional, business and family lives to face certain abuse and arrests (more so for $50 per month for 5 years).
If we dont do the right things for this country nothing will come right.
To pretend that we can replace MDCA with ZanuPF’s 41-year track record of “excellence” in Gvt, parastatals, rural councils etc etc is rather generous.
The ball is in your court Mr President!
Ben Manyenyeni
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