SUCCESS LIFE Jonah Nyoni

Your thoughts have the energy, power, and limitless prowess and potential. Your thoughts can even surprise you because of what they can produce. This writer can attest to this.

Being born in a sorry and poor state, he made his mind almost a decade ago and today most people would not agree that he was the same person that was controlled by all winds of life and bogged done by innumerable excuses.

People that have made it in life have proved that the mind is the masterpiece that God has given to humanity.

Joel Osteen says neurologists have discovered that the average person uses less than 10% of their mind (Become A Better You: 5).

As cited by Bob Proctor in the book, You Were Born Rich, Elexander Rich, a professor of biophysics at the MIT, has estimated that our central nervous system has about 10 to 100 million cells and each one of then has a storage capacity equal to that of a large computer.

In the same book, Proctor further quotes Ross Addey of the Space Biology Laboratory of the Brain Research Institute at UCLA, who said: “The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”

Napoleon Hill, in his book Think And Grow Rich, wrote: “We are what we are because of the vibrations of the thoughts which we pick and register, through the stimuli of our daily environment.”

A local author and motivational speaker, Rabison Shumba, says: “Your mind is the engine room and assembly plant for life processes. If you manage your mind, you can manage your life” (The Greatness Manual:53). If you can manage your mind, you can control your destiny.

Anthony Robbins, who boasts of having been a janitor with no college degree, but to rose to a place of influence by selling tens of millions of books, speaking to mega crowds and at one time advising the President of the United States because of a made mind in his book, Awaken The Giant Within, that the brain “is capable of processing up to 30 billion bits of information per second and it boasts the equivalent of 6 000 miles of wiring and cabling. Typically, the human nervous system contains about 28 billion neurons” (Page 115).

Finally, the world’s top selling book, the Bible, says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).

Need I say more to prove the power of your mind? There is no excuse to live a life of mediocrity. Never allow people to douse or drown your thought-power by telling you that you won’t amount to anything. Never allow your current or present state to choose you a future. I would think it’s a crime to live a life below your potential because you would have deprived and robbed humanity of the great resource they could have benefitted from you.

SUCCESS LIFE Jonah Nyoni

Your thoughts have the energy, power, and limitless prowess and potential. Your thoughts can even surprise you because of what they can produce. This writer can attest to this.

Being born in a sorry and poor state, he made his mind almost a decade ago and today most people would not agree that he was the same person that was controlled by all winds of life and bogged done by innumerable excuses.

People that have made it in life have proved that the mind is the masterpiece that God has given to humanity.

Joel Osteen says neurologists have discovered that the average person uses less than 10% of their mind (Become A Better You: 5).

As cited by Bob Proctor in the book, You Were Born Rich, Elexander Rich, a professor of biophysics at the MIT, has estimated that our central nervous system has about 10 to 100 million cells and each one of then has a storage capacity equal to that of a large computer.

In the same book, Proctor further quotes Ross Addey of the Space Biology Laboratory of the Brain Research Institute at UCLA, who said: “The ultimate creative capacity of your brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”

Napoleon Hill, in his book Think And Grow Rich, wrote: “We are what we are because of the vibrations of the thoughts which we pick and register, through the stimuli of our daily environment.”

A local author and motivational speaker, Rabison Shumba, says: “Your mind is the engine room and assembly plant for life processes. If you manage your mind, you can manage your life” (The Greatness Manual:53). If you can manage your mind, you can control your destiny.

Anthony Robbins, who boasts of having been a janitor with no college degree, but to rose to a place of influence by selling tens of millions of books, speaking to mega crowds and at one time advising the President of the United States because of a made mind in his book, Awaken The Giant Within, that the brain “is capable of processing up to 30 billion bits of information per second and it boasts the equivalent of 6 000 miles of wiring and cabling. Typically, the human nervous system contains about 28 billion neurons” (Page 115).

Finally, the world’s top selling book, the Bible, says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).

Need I say more to prove the power of your mind? There is no excuse to live a life of mediocrity. Never allow people to douse or drown your thought-power by telling you that you won’t amount to anything. Never allow your current or present state to choose you a future. I would think it’s a crime to live a life below your potential because you would have deprived and robbed humanity of the great resource they could have benefitted from you.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

THE call for electoral reforms by the independent elections watchdog, Elections Resource Centre (ERC), could not have come at a more critical time.

This is in view of the economic difficulties being experienced in the country, whose repercussions on the ordinary citizens are far-reaching.

It is a part of the natural law that the economy of any country follows its politics, so there can never be binding economic development in Zimbabwe without the necessary reforms that will attract international capital, given our desperate need for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Most investors look at the politics of a nation before committing their investments, and no amount of international whitewashing through fancy public relations campaigns will help unless
we first deal with what matters the most.

Foreign governments and investors do not rely on public relations campaigns to be attracted to a nation, but will solicit views and opinions of their
diplomatic representatives based in Harare.

The rate at which things have been going down under the President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is indicative of a lot of increased loss of confidence in the new establishment.

The people of Zimbabwe no longer have confidence and trust in their governance systems and as long as the government does not address those fundamental, their efforts will just go to waste.

So far, the government had tried to use piece-meal solutions because of the tendency to focus just on the economic side of the equation while ignoring the
political side. Dealing with the politics should also include inclusive dialogue involving all key stakeholders in the country’s politics, including the MDC.

In Sudan, for instance, the country’s military leaders have just reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share power until elections are held. The
two sides agreed to rotate control of the sovereign council for just over three years because they realise that the situation in the country is untenable.

There is no pointing in insisting on holding on to power when it is clear that nothing is really working. Power should be a means to an end rather than an end
in itself.

It should be used to better the lives and economic fortunes of the ordinary people.

Lessons abound in Africa and elsewhere on some of the options that the government can explore to pull the country out of the current political and economic
gridlock.

The winner-takes-all business many look good in politics, but economics goes by a different set of rules.

Both the Zanu PF government and the MDC need to find each other so they can work together for the good of the nation.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

THE call for electoral reforms by the independent elections watchdog, Elections Resource Centre (ERC), could not have come at a more critical time.

This is in view of the economic difficulties being experienced in the country, whose repercussions on the ordinary citizens are far-reaching.

It is a part of the natural law that the economy of any country follows its politics, so there can never be binding economic development in Zimbabwe without the necessary reforms that will attract international capital, given our desperate need for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Most investors look at the politics of a nation before committing their investments, and no amount of international whitewashing through fancy public relations campaigns will help unless
we first deal with what matters the most.

Foreign governments and investors do not rely on public relations campaigns to be attracted to a nation, but will solicit views and opinions of their
diplomatic representatives based in Harare.

The rate at which things have been going down under the President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is indicative of a lot of increased loss of confidence in the new establishment.

The people of Zimbabwe no longer have confidence and trust in their governance systems and as long as the government does not address those fundamental, their efforts will just go to waste.

So far, the government had tried to use piece-meal solutions because of the tendency to focus just on the economic side of the equation while ignoring the
political side. Dealing with the politics should also include inclusive dialogue involving all key stakeholders in the country’s politics, including the MDC.

In Sudan, for instance, the country’s military leaders have just reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share power until elections are held. The
two sides agreed to rotate control of the sovereign council for just over three years because they realise that the situation in the country is untenable.

There is no pointing in insisting on holding on to power when it is clear that nothing is really working. Power should be a means to an end rather than an end
in itself.

It should be used to better the lives and economic fortunes of the ordinary people.

Lessons abound in Africa and elsewhere on some of the options that the government can explore to pull the country out of the current political and economic
gridlock.

The winner-takes-all business many look good in politics, but economics goes by a different set of rules.

Both the Zanu PF government and the MDC need to find each other so they can work together for the good of the nation.

MOTIVATION Ashley Thaba

THE Bible has a plan for literally every aspect of our lives. This plan is for our personal benefit and that of society.

One particular plan of God is outlined in Titus 2. It’s a long chapter so I won’t quote it, but I really encourage you to read it!

The premise is that older men should be pouring wisdom and practical daily tips for a productive and godly life into younger men. (The same goes for ladies, but today I am focusing on men)

My husband and I frequently lead parenting and marriage seminars.

A recent conversation in a marriage seminar got me thinking about the lack of discipleship that is haunting the young men we see in our societies.

As a professional parenting consultant, I also have a Facebook forum where I freely offer tips to parents in order to encourage them in their role as parents.

I then used my Facebook page, Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations, to voice my concerns and encourage the 4 200 plus readers that frequent that page.

What happened next astounded me! Over 23 000 liked and shared the post I wrote.

Clearly, I had struck on an issue that resonated with thousands.

I decided to use this column as another forum to share this word of encouragement with especially fathers.

My genuine prayer is that we would have men who come together for the good of the country and selflessly offer their love and support to those young men who are a part of their families, churches and neighbourhoods, among others.

Here is the essence of what I wrote on the post that went viral:

I am sitting at home alone because my husband took my son to watch a big soccer match. He frequently takes Caleb and they do “man” things together.

All day Thursday, over the holiday, I mean from 7:30 am to around 7pm. – he took Caleb to the farm and the two of them built a chicken coop.

Last week, they were slaughtering a chicken and goat together. On Fridays, Percy takes him to soccer and cheers him on at practice.

Every morning, they get up together and clean out the brooder where the newly-hatched chicks sleep and give them fresh food and water.

Caleb beams with pride and joy when he is useful and helpful to his father! You can see how proud he is! Percy is intentional about spending time and pouring into our son. He is intentional about bonding with the girls also, but in different ways and right now, I want to talk about the father/son relationship.

I hope what I am about to say I will not come out wrong. I was leading a marriage workshop today and one of the ladies was commenting on how, as a single mother, she felt that her son was missing some of the masculine touch a man could bring to his life.

From a strictly objective and psychological perspective, statistics prove that boys do miss out on something without a father or at least a very strong father-like figure in their lives.

Here is my challenge to you men: Can you identify a single mother and volunteer to go play soccer with her son, take him to the farm with you or in some intentional way, bless that mother by loving her son? Surely, some of you have sisters who you could pull up your socks and be intentional about you playing a father role in your nephew’s life.

If your children have age mates who you know are being raised by a single mother, could you and your wife be intentional about having that son in your home and including him in activities with your own children?

Could you identify a little boy or young man at church and make a point to greet and ask him about his week? Is there something you can pray to God for him?

Does the little boy have a big school match coming up that you could go and offer support to him or a big test that you could help him study for?

Does the young man have a woman he has his eye on that you could take him out for coffee and offer guidance on how to enter into a healthy relationship?

Even if it is just greeting him at church and showing interest – it is something worthy the while!

Today, at the marriage workshop, one of the ladies said African men are not good at commitment and being good fathers. But then, as we chatted, we realised that most of the people in the room were raised by single mothers.

Maybe our men just don’t know how to be good fathers because they have never saw a model of one.

Those of you who were blessed to be in healthy marriages should invite the young men into their homes and pour into them!

Share life with them. Let them see what it can look like! If one-by-one, you and I can pour into the boy child and the young man who is starting to think about starting a family, we could make a difference and conversations like we have had today may not be so common anymore.

I am not trying to point fingers at the single mothers, but rather challenge the older men to disciple the young men and boys around them to rise and lead our families! Remember the old African proverb – it takes a village to raise a child!

Next week, I will offer some very specific ways older men can pour into younger men based on the guidance of Titus 2.

Let me, for now, just say for those of you fathers who are doing their best and are pouring into their children, you can’t begin to imagine the priceless gift you are giving your children and us, the community, who will have to live with the child you nurture.

Thank you so much for your services – your loving selfless sacrificial service to raise sons who will bless us as a nation in the generation to come!

Send questions to askthaba@gmail.com or Facebook page – Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations.

MOTIVATION Ashley Thaba

THE Bible has a plan for literally every aspect of our lives. This plan is for our personal benefit and that of society.

One particular plan of God is outlined in Titus 2. It’s a long chapter so I won’t quote it, but I really encourage you to read it!

The premise is that older men should be pouring wisdom and practical daily tips for a productive and godly life into younger men. (The same goes for ladies, but today I am focusing on men)

My husband and I frequently lead parenting and marriage seminars.

A recent conversation in a marriage seminar got me thinking about the lack of discipleship that is haunting the young men we see in our societies.

As a professional parenting consultant, I also have a Facebook forum where I freely offer tips to parents in order to encourage them in their role as parents.

I then used my Facebook page, Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations, to voice my concerns and encourage the 4 200 plus readers that frequent that page.

What happened next astounded me! Over 23 000 liked and shared the post I wrote.

Clearly, I had struck on an issue that resonated with thousands.

I decided to use this column as another forum to share this word of encouragement with especially fathers.

My genuine prayer is that we would have men who come together for the good of the country and selflessly offer their love and support to those young men who are a part of their families, churches and neighbourhoods, among others.

Here is the essence of what I wrote on the post that went viral:

I am sitting at home alone because my husband took my son to watch a big soccer match. He frequently takes Caleb and they do “man” things together.

All day Thursday, over the holiday, I mean from 7:30 am to around 7pm. – he took Caleb to the farm and the two of them built a chicken coop.

Last week, they were slaughtering a chicken and goat together. On Fridays, Percy takes him to soccer and cheers him on at practice.

Every morning, they get up together and clean out the brooder where the newly-hatched chicks sleep and give them fresh food and water.

Caleb beams with pride and joy when he is useful and helpful to his father! You can see how proud he is! Percy is intentional about spending time and pouring into our son. He is intentional about bonding with the girls also, but in different ways and right now, I want to talk about the father/son relationship.

I hope what I am about to say I will not come out wrong. I was leading a marriage workshop today and one of the ladies was commenting on how, as a single mother, she felt that her son was missing some of the masculine touch a man could bring to his life.

From a strictly objective and psychological perspective, statistics prove that boys do miss out on something without a father or at least a very strong father-like figure in their lives.

Here is my challenge to you men: Can you identify a single mother and volunteer to go play soccer with her son, take him to the farm with you or in some intentional way, bless that mother by loving her son? Surely, some of you have sisters who you could pull up your socks and be intentional about you playing a father role in your nephew’s life.

If your children have age mates who you know are being raised by a single mother, could you and your wife be intentional about having that son in your home and including him in activities with your own children?

Could you identify a little boy or young man at church and make a point to greet and ask him about his week? Is there something you can pray to God for him?

Does the little boy have a big school match coming up that you could go and offer support to him or a big test that you could help him study for?

Does the young man have a woman he has his eye on that you could take him out for coffee and offer guidance on how to enter into a healthy relationship?

Even if it is just greeting him at church and showing interest – it is something worthy the while!

Today, at the marriage workshop, one of the ladies said African men are not good at commitment and being good fathers. But then, as we chatted, we realised that most of the people in the room were raised by single mothers.

Maybe our men just don’t know how to be good fathers because they have never saw a model of one.

Those of you who were blessed to be in healthy marriages should invite the young men into their homes and pour into them!

Share life with them. Let them see what it can look like! If one-by-one, you and I can pour into the boy child and the young man who is starting to think about starting a family, we could make a difference and conversations like we have had today may not be so common anymore.

I am not trying to point fingers at the single mothers, but rather challenge the older men to disciple the young men and boys around them to rise and lead our families! Remember the old African proverb – it takes a village to raise a child!

Next week, I will offer some very specific ways older men can pour into younger men based on the guidance of Titus 2.

Let me, for now, just say for those of you fathers who are doing their best and are pouring into their children, you can’t begin to imagine the priceless gift you are giving your children and us, the community, who will have to live with the child you nurture.

Thank you so much for your services – your loving selfless sacrificial service to raise sons who will bless us as a nation in the generation to come!

Send questions to askthaba@gmail.com or Facebook page – Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations.

MOTIVATION Ashley Thaba

THE Bible has a plan for literally every aspect of our lives. This plan is for our personal benefit and that of society.

One particular plan of God is outlined in Titus 2. It’s a long chapter so I won’t quote it, but I really encourage you to read it!

The premise is that older men should be pouring wisdom and practical daily tips for a productive and godly life into younger men. (The same goes for ladies, but today I am focusing on men)

My husband and I frequently lead parenting and marriage seminars.

A recent conversation in a marriage seminar got me thinking about the lack of discipleship that is haunting the young men we see in our societies.

As a professional parenting consultant, I also have a Facebook forum where I freely offer tips to parents in order to encourage them in their role as parents.

I then used my Facebook page, Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations, to voice my concerns and encourage the 4 200 plus readers that frequent that page.

What happened next astounded me! Over 23 000 liked and shared the post I wrote.

Clearly, I had struck on an issue that resonated with thousands.

I decided to use this column as another forum to share this word of encouragement with especially fathers.

My genuine prayer is that we would have men who come together for the good of the country and selflessly offer their love and support to those young men who are a part of their families, churches and neighbourhoods, among others.

Here is the essence of what I wrote on the post that went viral:

I am sitting at home alone because my husband took my son to watch a big soccer match. He frequently takes Caleb and they do “man” things together.

All day Thursday, over the holiday, I mean from 7:30 am to around 7pm. – he took Caleb to the farm and the two of them built a chicken coop.

Last week, they were slaughtering a chicken and goat together. On Fridays, Percy takes him to soccer and cheers him on at practice.

Every morning, they get up together and clean out the brooder where the newly-hatched chicks sleep and give them fresh food and water.

Caleb beams with pride and joy when he is useful and helpful to his father! You can see how proud he is! Percy is intentional about spending time and pouring into our son. He is intentional about bonding with the girls also, but in different ways and right now, I want to talk about the father/son relationship.

I hope what I am about to say I will not come out wrong. I was leading a marriage workshop today and one of the ladies was commenting on how, as a single mother, she felt that her son was missing some of the masculine touch a man could bring to his life.

From a strictly objective and psychological perspective, statistics prove that boys do miss out on something without a father or at least a very strong father-like figure in their lives.

Here is my challenge to you men: Can you identify a single mother and volunteer to go play soccer with her son, take him to the farm with you or in some intentional way, bless that mother by loving her son? Surely, some of you have sisters who you could pull up your socks and be intentional about you playing a father role in your nephew’s life.

If your children have age mates who you know are being raised by a single mother, could you and your wife be intentional about having that son in your home and including him in activities with your own children?

Could you identify a little boy or young man at church and make a point to greet and ask him about his week? Is there something you can pray to God for him?

Does the little boy have a big school match coming up that you could go and offer support to him or a big test that you could help him study for?

Does the young man have a woman he has his eye on that you could take him out for coffee and offer guidance on how to enter into a healthy relationship?

Even if it is just greeting him at church and showing interest – it is something worthy the while!

Today, at the marriage workshop, one of the ladies said African men are not good at commitment and being good fathers. But then, as we chatted, we realised that most of the people in the room were raised by single mothers.

Maybe our men just don’t know how to be good fathers because they have never saw a model of one.

Those of you who were blessed to be in healthy marriages should invite the young men into their homes and pour into them!

Share life with them. Let them see what it can look like! If one-by-one, you and I can pour into the boy child and the young man who is starting to think about starting a family, we could make a difference and conversations like we have had today may not be so common anymore.

I am not trying to point fingers at the single mothers, but rather challenge the older men to disciple the young men and boys around them to rise and lead our families! Remember the old African proverb – it takes a village to raise a child!

Next week, I will offer some very specific ways older men can pour into younger men based on the guidance of Titus 2.

Let me, for now, just say for those of you fathers who are doing their best and are pouring into their children, you can’t begin to imagine the priceless gift you are giving your children and us, the community, who will have to live with the child you nurture.

Thank you so much for your services – your loving selfless sacrificial service to raise sons who will bless us as a nation in the generation to come!

Send questions to askthaba@gmail.com or Facebook page – Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations.

MOTIVATION Ashley Thaba

THE Bible has a plan for literally every aspect of our lives. This plan is for our personal benefit and that of society.

One particular plan of God is outlined in Titus 2. It’s a long chapter so I won’t quote it, but I really encourage you to read it!

The premise is that older men should be pouring wisdom and practical daily tips for a productive and godly life into younger men. (The same goes for ladies, but today I am focusing on men)

My husband and I frequently lead parenting and marriage seminars.

A recent conversation in a marriage seminar got me thinking about the lack of discipleship that is haunting the young men we see in our societies.

As a professional parenting consultant, I also have a Facebook forum where I freely offer tips to parents in order to encourage them in their role as parents.

I then used my Facebook page, Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations, to voice my concerns and encourage the 4 200 plus readers that frequent that page.

What happened next astounded me! Over 23 000 liked and shared the post I wrote.

Clearly, I had struck on an issue that resonated with thousands.

I decided to use this column as another forum to share this word of encouragement with especially fathers.

My genuine prayer is that we would have men who come together for the good of the country and selflessly offer their love and support to those young men who are a part of their families, churches and neighbourhoods, among others.

Here is the essence of what I wrote on the post that went viral:

I am sitting at home alone because my husband took my son to watch a big soccer match. He frequently takes Caleb and they do “man” things together.

All day Thursday, over the holiday, I mean from 7:30 am to around 7pm. – he took Caleb to the farm and the two of them built a chicken coop.

Last week, they were slaughtering a chicken and goat together. On Fridays, Percy takes him to soccer and cheers him on at practice.

Every morning, they get up together and clean out the brooder where the newly-hatched chicks sleep and give them fresh food and water.

Caleb beams with pride and joy when he is useful and helpful to his father! You can see how proud he is! Percy is intentional about spending time and pouring into our son. He is intentional about bonding with the girls also, but in different ways and right now, I want to talk about the father/son relationship.

I hope what I am about to say I will not come out wrong. I was leading a marriage workshop today and one of the ladies was commenting on how, as a single mother, she felt that her son was missing some of the masculine touch a man could bring to his life.

From a strictly objective and psychological perspective, statistics prove that boys do miss out on something without a father or at least a very strong father-like figure in their lives.

Here is my challenge to you men: Can you identify a single mother and volunteer to go play soccer with her son, take him to the farm with you or in some intentional way, bless that mother by loving her son? Surely, some of you have sisters who you could pull up your socks and be intentional about you playing a father role in your nephew’s life.

If your children have age mates who you know are being raised by a single mother, could you and your wife be intentional about having that son in your home and including him in activities with your own children?

Could you identify a little boy or young man at church and make a point to greet and ask him about his week? Is there something you can pray to God for him?

Does the little boy have a big school match coming up that you could go and offer support to him or a big test that you could help him study for?

Does the young man have a woman he has his eye on that you could take him out for coffee and offer guidance on how to enter into a healthy relationship?

Even if it is just greeting him at church and showing interest – it is something worthy the while!

Today, at the marriage workshop, one of the ladies said African men are not good at commitment and being good fathers. But then, as we chatted, we realised that most of the people in the room were raised by single mothers.

Maybe our men just don’t know how to be good fathers because they have never saw a model of one.

Those of you who were blessed to be in healthy marriages should invite the young men into their homes and pour into them!

Share life with them. Let them see what it can look like! If one-by-one, you and I can pour into the boy child and the young man who is starting to think about starting a family, we could make a difference and conversations like we have had today may not be so common anymore.

I am not trying to point fingers at the single mothers, but rather challenge the older men to disciple the young men and boys around them to rise and lead our families! Remember the old African proverb – it takes a village to raise a child!

Next week, I will offer some very specific ways older men can pour into younger men based on the guidance of Titus 2.

Let me, for now, just say for those of you fathers who are doing their best and are pouring into their children, you can’t begin to imagine the priceless gift you are giving your children and us, the community, who will have to live with the child you nurture.

Thank you so much for your services – your loving selfless sacrificial service to raise sons who will bless us as a nation in the generation to come!

Send questions to askthaba@gmail.com or Facebook page – Mom to Mom: Parenting Consultations.

XOLISANI NCUBE

Harare City Council workers have declared a deadlock with their employer over a cost of living adjustment in the wake of recent spates of price hikes.

Minutes of the joint finance and human resources committees approved last week reveal that talks by the two sides reached a deadlock, with the matter now
before an arbitrator.

Council had offered workers a 5% increment on top of the 2,5% arbitral award they won for a pay rise beginning January 2019.

“The 2018 collective bargaining agreement and the 2019 hardship allowances were both before the arbitrator, following deadlocks on both sides. The acting human
capital director (Mathew Marara) also highlighted that council had a backlog of the collective bargaining agreement negotiation increment of 2,5% for the year
2017, which would be effected from March 2019 and backdated to January 1, 2019,” the minutes read.

Council owes its workers salaries backdated to February 2019 and this has been attributed to declining revenue collection.

“This has been necessitated by the recent rise in the general cost of living in the country. Council, however, was also incapacitated because of budgetary
constraints,” read the minutes.

After a lengthy debate, council tasked its representative to the works council to engage the workers for the 5% offer, while new revenue streams were being
exploited.

The bid for a salary hike comes as service delivery has dwindled and revenue collection is at its lowest ebb due to the negative economic phase the country is
passing through.

XOLISANI NCUBE

Harare City Council workers have declared a deadlock with their employer over a cost of living adjustment in the wake of recent spates of price hikes.

Minutes of the joint finance and human resources committees approved last week reveal that talks by the two sides reached a deadlock, with the matter now
before an arbitrator.

Council had offered workers a 5% increment on top of the 2,5% arbitral award they won for a pay rise beginning January 2019.

“The 2018 collective bargaining agreement and the 2019 hardship allowances were both before the arbitrator, following deadlocks on both sides. The acting human
capital director (Mathew Marara) also highlighted that council had a backlog of the collective bargaining agreement negotiation increment of 2,5% for the year
2017, which would be effected from March 2019 and backdated to January 1, 2019,” the minutes read.

Council owes its workers salaries backdated to February 2019 and this has been attributed to declining revenue collection.

“This has been necessitated by the recent rise in the general cost of living in the country. Council, however, was also incapacitated because of budgetary
constraints,” read the minutes.

After a lengthy debate, council tasked its representative to the works council to engage the workers for the 5% offer, while new revenue streams were being
exploited.

The bid for a salary hike comes as service delivery has dwindled and revenue collection is at its lowest ebb due to the negative economic phase the country is
passing through.