HARARE City Council (HCC) is divided over a government directive to extend the retirement age for workers to 70, with some councillors saying old people are being abused and should retire to enjoy their pension.
The issue was debated in a full council meeting recently, where it was revealed that the human resources report adopted the government directive.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended the retirement age for civil servants and members of the uniformed forces to 70 through Statutory Instrument 197 of 2024.
The directive was extended to councils.
In an interview with NewsDay, ward 16 councillor Denford Ngadziore said councils were not bound to agree to all directives.
He said the directive was anti-youth, noting that some graduates have been without jobs for several years.
“Our human resources report adopted a government directive to increase retirement age to 70, previously retirement age at the council was 55, then 60, 65 and now 70.
“When these people reach 70, they will extend the retirement age to 75 and possibly to 80. This resolution is anti-youth, we have youths who are coming from universities and some have no jobs after graduating 20 years ago and we keep on extending contracts.
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“It is not every directive we are supposed to agree to. What l am seeing at Harare City Council is shocking. Sometimes you can see an old man jumping onto a tipper truck.”
He said council was violating old people’s rights.
“It is the same as violating children's rights because you can't employ a child. We need to respect the old people so that they retire on time and go and enjoy their pension,” Ngadziore said.
Council human resources committee chairperson George Mujajati confirmed that the local authority had adopted the government directive.
“We have since adopted the government directive and we are in the process of implementing it,” he said.
