Nkayi Village Heads Go Over A Year Without Allowances

Registered village heads from Nkayi in Matabeleland North Provinces have claimed that they have not received their allowances for over a year.

CITE reported sources as saying they were provided with NetOne sim cards in February, with the expectation that allowances would soon start being disbursed. Said one of the village heads:

We used to receive the allowance every month, but it has since stopped. During President Mugabe’s era, we earned around US$60.

When Emmerson Mnangagwa took over, the payments were converted to RTGS. Initially, when converted to USD, we received about US$7, but this amount gradually decreased to US$6, then US$5, and eventually to US$3, until the payments stopped altogether.

We were called to a meeting in Nkayi on February 15, where we were informed that the allowances would now be sent via One Money.

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However, to date, we have not received any payments. When we inquire, we are told to wait, and that everything will be sorted out.

When we ask, we become targets, but how are we supposed to survive? We have families to support, and hunger is affecting us.

Nkayi has about 612 village heads, but you will find that those who are earning are just over 100.

The disgruntled village heads further alleged that the District Development Coordinator (DDC) informed them that the funds are now managed from Harare. Said a village head:

She said when we were receiving our payments regularly, the funds were managed from the Nkayi office. Now, the offices are in Harare.

When we try to raise these issues in the WhatsApp group, some village heads who are still receiving their allowances silence us.

Contacted for a comment by CITE, the DDC Matilda Mlotshwa did not respond but later told the traditional leaders in their WhatsApp group that their position remains unchanged. She said:

Dear elders, we hear your complaints. The truth is, we are also trying as an office to ensure that everyone receives their dues. The problem is that it is now being done in Harare at the SSB.

When it was done here with us, you will agree that there were no such problems. We do not know what is happening there; many payslips came back with incorrect numbers, which is the current situation.

Slowly, people are getting their issues resolved. We hope that over time, everything will be sorted out.

Coming to the office does not help much because everything is done at the headquarters, which is beyond our control. We write and send the papers.

For now, let us be patient; it will be resolved. We apologize greatly, but the truth is that it will be resolved soon. Have a good day.

More: Pindula News