THE recent decision by the Harare City Council to spend an astronomic ZiG230 million on so-called ‘utility workshops’ is a scandal of the worst order.
At a time the city is grappling with crumbling infrastructure, erratic water supply and uncollected garbage piling up on the streets, this expenditure is not just irresponsible — it is a blatant act of betrayal of the people of Harare who put their trust in the City Fathers. The City Fathers, entrusted with the welfare of the residents, have instead chosen to line their own pockets, milking the hard-pressed ratepayers with no regard for the dire needs of the city.
Utility workshops, as they are being termed, remain a vague and opaque concept to the average Harare resident. There has been little to no explanation provided about what these workshops entail, what they aim to achieve, or how they will benefit the city. The lack of transparency surrounding this dubious expenditure raises red flags, suggesting that this is yet another scheme designed to siphon public funds into the pockets of corrupt officials. The council’s decision to proceed with these workshops without adequate consultation or justification is a slap in the face to the ratepayers who fund the city’s budget through their hard-earned money.
One of the most distressing aspects of this situation is the timing of this expenditure. Harare City Council is in the midst of multiple crises, chiefly officials who are being arrested for criminal abuse of office. The city’s roads are riddled with potholes, water shortages are a daily nightmare, and the refuse collection system is in shambles. Were it not for the Government that is working flat out to restore normalcy, the city would have collapsed a long time ago.
Yet, instead of addressing these pressing issues, the Council has chosen to divert an obscene amount of money to workshops that have little to no immediate benefit for the city.
This is not just a case of misplaced priorities — it is a clear indication of the rot that has taken hold within the Harare City Council. The officials who sanctioned this expenditure are not acting in the best interests of the city; they are acting in their self-interest. They have become criminals in suits, exploiting their positions of power to enrich themselves at the expense of the very people they are supposed to serve.
The scale of this betrayal cannot be overstated. Harare’s ratepayers are already struggling under the weight of exorbitant rates and taxes, which are supposed to fund essential services and infrastructure development. Instead, they are being forced to foot the bill for the Council’s lavish spending on unnecessary workshops. This is not just financial mismanagement — it is criminal theft, plain and simple.
The residents of Harare cannot, and should not, stand for this any longer. There must be a public outcry against this blatant misuse of funds and those responsible must be held to account. The councillors and officials who have approved this expenditure must be investigated for corruption, and if found guilty, they should face the full wrath of the law. These individuals have shown that they are unfit to hold public office and must be removed from their positions before they inflict further damage on the city.
In addition to legal action, there must also be a complete overhaul of the systems and processes that allowed this to happen in the first place. Transparency and accountability must be at the heart of city governance and the residents of Harare must be given a greater say in how their money is spent. The council must be compelled to justify every cent of public money it spends, and any project that does not directly benefit the residents should be scrapped.
The time for complacency is over. Harare’s ratepayers deserve better than this. They deserve a council that is committed to improving the city, not one that is focused on lining its own pockets. The ZiG230 million spent on these dubious utility workshops is money that could have been used to fix the roads, improve water supply or enhance waste management services.
Instead, it has been squandered on workshops that benefit no-one but the corrupt officials who authorised it.
Harare ratepayers deserve better!
