By Correspondent
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has dismissed allegations of spending US$11M within the first 7 months on workshops and instead said they used US$2m.
Addressing the media, Councillors and members of the public Mafume said the US$11m figure was shocking.
“We have done the calculations of the money spent on workshops and we have converted it into US$.
“It was given to me by the Finance Department and it simply comes to US$2.1m as an average calculation.
The Mayor said some of the workshops were actually mandated at law.
“People must understand that once there is an election there is an induction.
“We now have 59 Councillors according to the new constitution as 14 were added through Proportional Representation (PR).
“Which are the induction workshops which we held and they are many.
Council Officials Benefitting More
In a display of frustration Mafume said Cllrs were not even the main beneficiaries of workshops.
“A Cllr according to the circular from the Ministry gets US$10 per meal or 10 bond according to the old currency.
“So we dont make up the bulk of the workshops that we go to.
“The bulk is made up of the support staff.
“They have got Collective Bargaining Agreements which determine what they get and it is way above what I get.
“The person who drives me to the workshops actually gets more than I get.
Mafume accused Council officials of sleeping on duty in failing to state accurate information to the public.
“That’s why I have raised this issue of not knowing things by the head when you are asked.
“You end up confirming things that are not accurate.
“If you are an official for the City of Harare you must have information at the tip of your fingers so that we have confidence in you.
The Mayor said residents had been attacking Cllrs due to wrong information given out.
The rebut by Mafume follows revelations last week that Council had spent US$11m on workshops within 7 months.
