Harare will have to restart its search for a substantive town clerk after the Local Government Board (LGB) rejected the three short-listed candidates.
Harare mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said the LGB was not happy with the selection and requested that the position be re-advertised.
Suspended human capital director Cainos Chingombe, Hatfield legislator Tapiwa Mashakada and Gweru town clerk Elisabeth Gwatipedza had been selected by the local authority for final consideration.
“I have received communication from the LGB that they are not happy with the three candidates and they have requested fresh interviews for the position so it is back to square one. This was after more than 30 months without a town clerk,” Manyenyeni said.
The mayor further pointed out without giving much detail that the LGB gave different reasons of their opposition for each candidate.
He added that as Harare needs a speedy resolution to the impasse as it was not ideal for a capital city to not have someone who makes executive administrative decisions.
Community Water Alliance coordinator Hardlife Mudzingwa said the position needed to be filled speedily as Harare could not function without a substantive chief executive.
“This position cannot have a person acting in it for so long. We thought that in the 100-day plan laid out by government something would have happened but that has not been the case. It should be filled by a professional person and not someone who is selected on partisan lines,” he said.
The position has been lying vacant for three years after the former town clerk Tendai Mahachi was retrenched.
In 2016, council appointed former banker James Mushore to the position but he was suspended by former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere for flouting procedures to his appointment.
Following his suspension Mushore approached the Labour Court recourse into the matter which is yet to be determined.
If Mushore wins the Labour Court case, Harare City Council will be compelled to pay him over $250 000 in backdated salaries.
When the three candidates were revealed residents rejected the candidates arguing that they are “uninspiring”.
They said Mashakada is an active MDC politician, Chingombe is yet to answer for the council’s salary scandal while Gwatipedza also had an issue of purchasing $40 000 curtains for her council home. Daily News
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