THE commission of inquiry probing the operations of Harare City Council (HCC) from 2017 to date has questioned the US$329 000 compensation paid to former council human resource capital manager Matthew Marara before re-admitting him.
Marara received US$329 000 as compensation for the period he was on suspension over corruption charges.
He was the city’s housing director and was suspended in 2020 over allegations of corruption involving residential stands.
The senior official was suspended alongside other top HCC officials, among them Edgar Dzehonye and Tonderai Mukora, from the survey section.
It since emerged during the retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda-led commission hearings that councillors are allegedly working hand-in-hand with council officials in the misappropriation of ratepayers’ funds at the local authority.
Appearing before the commission this week, council human resource chairperson George Mujajati was at pains to respond to inquiries from commissioners over the payout.
He, however, placed the blame on the city fathers and management.
“It is both councillors and officials, but to a very large extent, the officials, managers. Sometimes councillors are taken as managers,” he said.
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Mujajati said councillors and management were conniving to make irregular recruitments, land dealings and workshops that sucked money from council.
“Now I have tried to find out how this became a path of paying him. It was coming to my understanding that sometime in 2023, there was a council resolution that Marara should be given any amount that came out from that meeting.
“One of the issues was that the acting HR director, Marara, was holding two portfolios. One, the acting HR director (post) and also a position, which was described as the executive assistant at Town House,” he said.
“Now, I tried to find out, first of all from him, why this was the case and he was not very clear in his explanation.
“I tried to look for the evidence of his resignation letter, but it was nowhere to be found. I demanded contracts so that I could see the position, but it was not clear.”
Marara was the city’s housing director and was suspended in 2020 on corruption allegations involving residential stands.
He resigned, but later claimed that he was still a council employee.
The courts also ordered council to pay him US$329 000 compensation for the period he was on suspension.
The commission is investigating the financial management systems and council’s other business units from 2017 to date.
