Harare City Council to lay off 3,000 workers: “Dr Mahachi to go”

City of Harare has reportedly resolved to fire 3,000 workers on three months’ notice. Council’s current workforce is estimated to be around 9,000.

The decision to trim council’s workforce was reportedly made by a special joint human resources and finance committee meeting that set at Townhouse on Monday 17, August. A reliable council source said that the exercise is set to affect workers from all grades with suspended town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi set to be the biggest casualty.

“Council is moving fast to retrench 3,000 workers before the new labour law is enacted. The list is already there and as we speak, letters are being written and will be passed to the affected workers starting today (Tuesday 18, August),” revealed the source.

The source added that most of the workers to be affected will include those with pending labour issues against council, absentees from work, those on regular sick leave and those who are known to be notorious.

“Mahachi’s lawyers recently tabled his exit package which ran into millions and council felt it was unrealistic and not payable. So this move will counter that move and he (Dr Mahachi) is definitely among the workers to be affected,” said the source.

Another source at Townhouse who refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said that morale was at an all-time low at the council offices as workers were confused regarding who would be affected by the exercise.

“We are all living in fear because of nervousness. No one is guaranteed of their job because the number is too much. But, I understand that the top management is divided on the matter as some are not in support of firing workers,” said the mole.

However, a councillor who spoke to 263Chat said that most councillors were not in agreement with the sacking of 3,000 workers as they felt it will negatively impact service delivery.

“I have just heard of the resolution from fellow councillors who sit on the committees that made the decision but, personally I feel that this will impact negatively on service delivery. Council has been suffering manpower shortages in some departments such as sewer since rationalisation and this retrenchment will definitely increase the manpower deficit,” said the councillor who also refused to be named.

City of Harare also undertook a rationalisation exercise barely a year ago which saw council retiring all workers above the age of 60 years. The rationalisation exercise saw council sacking more than 1,000 employees in a move that was aimed at reducing council’s bloated wage bill.

Efforts to get a comment from the Human Resources Committee Chairperson were fruitless as he was said to be in Beitbridge while the City’s Human Resources Director Dr Cainos Chingombe was not picking his phone. Councillor Loveness Gomba (Mufakose Ward 36) who was recently selected to be the Vice-Chairperson of council’s Human Resources Committee could not deny nor confirm the development saying that she could not comment as she was yet to take induction lessons into the committee.

Many companies have been terminating workers’ employment contracts on three months’ notice over the past month owing to the supreme court ruling that “empowered” employers to terminate employment contracts under the Common Law, and Section 12(4) of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01). More than 20,000 workers are said to have since been rendered jobless.