Harare City Council Under Fire After Missing Payroll Records Raise Questions Over US$2 Billion Wage Bill

By Staff Reporter
Harare City Council Fails To Account For US$2 Billion Salary Bill, Auditor-General Flags Missing Payroll Records
The Harare City Council has come under fresh scrutiny after failing to provide payroll records supporting employee costs of ZWL53.48 billion, equivalent to about US$2.06 billion, making it impossible for the Auditor-General to verify one of the local authority’s biggest areas of expenditure.

The issue is highlighted in the Auditor-General’s latest report, which raises concerns over the reliability of the council’s 2022 financial statements.

Also Read: Mayor Mafume Exposes Corruption at Harare City Council After US$4.5 Million Mysteriously Vanish

Missing Payroll Records Raise Audit Concerns
According to the report seen by The Herald, the council recorded employee costs amounting to ZWL53.48 billion in its financial statements but did not produce the payroll records required to support the expenditure during the audit.

Without the underlying documentation, the Auditor-General said there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the reported salary expenses and employee-related obligations were accurate and complete.


The report states that the lack of payroll records prevented auditors from confirming whether the figures presented in the financial statements fairly reflected the council’s actual employee costs.

Questions Over Financial Reporting
The missing records have cast doubt over one of the municipality’s largest expenditure items, with auditors unable to verify the accuracy of billions of dollars allocated to staff costs.

The Auditor-General noted that the absence of supporting documentation limited the audit process and made it impossible to express assurance on the reported employment expenses.

Longstanding Concerns Over Wage Bill
The findings add to persistent concerns about Harare City Council’s growing wage bill, which has repeatedly attracted criticism from both the Government and previous audit reports.

For years, the local authority has faced accusations of maintaining an oversized workforce whose salaries consume a significant share of municipal revenue.

Critics argue that the high wage bill leaves the council with fewer resources to improve essential services, repair ageing infrastructure and invest in development projects, contributing to ongoing challenges in service delivery across the capital.