The government has given in to demands by urban councillors to have their salaries reviewed from $300 to $1 000 per month exclusive of allowances.
Speaking on Friday to NewsDay Weekender in a telephone interview from Germany, Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) president and Gweru mayor Josiah Makombe said:
As UCAZ, we have been negotiating with (Local Government) minister July Moyo to review the allowances of councillors. I am happy to say that we have been heard and we are grateful to minister Moyo for understanding us.
We now have a formula or standard of allowances for councillors. Going forward, we will not negotiate for the review of the allowances but simply stick to the formula where councillors will get 50% of what the MPs will be earning in salaries monthly.
Urban councillors are now entitled to a sitting allowance equivalent to 50% of Members of Parliament’s basic salary (MPs earn $2 000 monthly).
Meanwhile, the opposition MDC Alliance controls 28 out of 32 urban councils.