Mahachi’s Reported Obscene USD3 million Exit Package Demand Shows A Lot Of What’s Wrong With Zim

Suspended Harare town clerk Tendai Mahachi has reportedly demanded a package that is reported by many to be as high as $3 million.

Yes, for a city council that fired 3,000 workers as a cost-cutting measure.

Some of the demands and revelations are astonishing in an economy like ours.

According to NewsDay, he was picking up an eye-watering $37,642 in salary and allowances. He wants four months salary for every years served (he was there for 8 years so that is 1,2 million).

He wants cash in lieu of three months notice. He wants cars and houses and medical aid and the works.

This is at a time when the Harare City Council is saying that it is struggling to meet its obligations to various stakeholders.

We are failing to take our eye off that $37k.

You see, the sad thing is that from a legal perspective he might be able to get a lot of that because he was handed a contract that simply prejudiced the people of Harare. He was given first world perks in a struggling third world country. In effect in the United States, the average Town Clerk earns an average of USD38,000 a year. In our non-performing institutions our guy gets that in a month, allegedly.

But that is just the issue with Zimbabwe. Both in private and public sector very few can justify some of the salaries they get.

What it really comes down to is poor governance. If the figures being thrown around are true how can salaries of that sort in a non-performing entity be even possible.

The question becomes, if we can accept such contracts on that level what other ones are there being made that are not in the interest of the people at local government?

How does it make sense for such a contract to have been negotiated in a poor economy?

We need to start behaving.