By Dumisani
The Gweru City Council has shortlisted twenty-four candidates, including top local Government officials, for the post of substantive town clerk.
According to the city father, record 24 people have applied for the vacant Gweru Town Clerk post. The local authority has been seeking a substantive Town Clerk since the dismissal of Agnes Gwatipedza in 2019 and has been operating with acting Town Clerks since then.
The application deadline for the position was set for December 4, and the overwhelming response from potential shows much interest in the well-regarded role.
Gweru Mayor, Councillor Martin Chivhoko’s recent announcement, indicated that a total of 24 applications have been received for the position of Town Clerk in Gweru. The mayor confirmed that the council will soon be conducting interviews to select the most suitable candidate for the role.
Expressing his satisfaction with the response, Mayor Chivhoko said: “We are happy that we are going to have a new Town Clerk after we closed the applications yesterday (December 4). We are going to have a substantive Town Clerk who will fulfil our mandate and wishes.”
The mayor made these remarks during a meeting organised by the Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) where he emphasised that the council has high expectations for the incoming Town Clerk.
He mentioned that any appointed individual failing to meet the residents’ expectations would be subject to dismissal. “We heard that Town Clerks come and go, but even if we engage a substantive Town Clerk, if he or she fails to perform to the satisfaction of the residents, he or she will go and we engage another one until we get the best candidate,” he emphasised.
The mayor did not disclose the names of the aspiring candidates. The last substantive Town Clerk, Gwatipedza was fired from the local authority’s top office after she was found guilty of three charges that included disobeying a lawful order to submit her contract of employment and those of other departmental heads. She was also found guilty of gross incompetence in the performance of her work in that she failed to comply with the audit and supervise the finance department.
After the dismissal of Gwatipedza for gross mismanagement, she was replaced by Douglas Vakai Chikwekwe who was the substantive Chamber Secretary. Chikwekwe resigned as the Chamber Secretary and acting Town Clerk in July this year, and was replaced by the finance director Livingstone Churu, who is the current acting Town Clerk. He resigned from the post of substantive Chamber Secretary and acting Town Clerk after serving council for six years and five months.
The local authority will now embark on the laborious process of reviewing the applications and shortlisting the most qualified candidates for further consideration. The appointment of a substantive Town Clerk is crucial for Gweru, as it will bring stability and direction to the local authority’s operations. With an acting Town Clerk, the council has faced challenges in implementing long-term strategic plans and addressing pressing issues like the perennial water crisis.
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