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Clr Manyenyeni

Innocent Ruwende and Timo Shihepo
Harare City Council is planning to appoint MDC-T politician Dr Tapiwa Mashakada as its new town clerk, despite its impasse with the Local Government Board over the issue.

Sources at Town House said the local authority was increasingly becoming impatient with the board, which has continued to sit on the list of three successful candidates it had shortlisted for the post because it (the board) wanted to interview candidates who were not shortlisted.

Dr Mashakada, who is Hatfield Member of Parliament and economic advisor to MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, is at the top of the submitted list after emerging tops in interviews carried out last year after scoring 1 534 points followed by Dr Cainos Chingombe with 1 394 and Mrs Elizabeth Gwatipedza with 1 228.

Sources said council was keen on appointing Dr Mashakada after he declared that he would dump his Parliamentary seat and politics to take up the position and to deal with disruptions to its business due to the unavailability of a substantive town clerk during the past 40 months.

Harare Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni yesterday admitted council’s keenness to have the post filled, but said he would consult Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Cde July Moyo.

“We are going to bring finality to this matter one way or the other. I will communicate proposals to bring closure to this matter with the Minister,” he said.

Mr Mashakada

Clr Manyenyeni said the succession issue had been very disruptive as it had taken very strong political dimensions, personal overtones, and vindictive treatment of issues since it started.

“The succession story for the City of Harare has taken 40 months starting with the struggle to retire Dr Mahachi firstly we had to verify his age but he could not confirm then we had to look for his contract, which he could not avail,” he said.

“So we lost six to eight months in that process when we eventually discovered what his true age was we retired him and the process of finding a successor commenced in earnest.

“The first candidate from the first round was James Mushore who was hounded out of office paralysing the council, the relationship between council and the parent ministry and between the minister and the mayor.” He said in compliance, council was forced to cancel Mr Mushore’s contract and the matter is before the courts.

“We restarted the formulae and submitted new names again in compliance with the Local Government Board requirements, which are now behind because in terms of the new constitution we should have the authority and mandate to hire and fire our employees from top to bottom, That has failed as we speak we are at a stalemate that we cannot afford,” he said.