Gweru Suspends Town Clerk
By Kwacha Mahachi
Gweru City Council has suspended Acting Town Clerk Vakai Chikwekwe after facing charges of Criminal abuse of duty as defined in Section 174(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23) or in the alternative c/s Section 94 (3) of the Public Procurement and Disposal (Regulations)S.I.5 of 2018.
The City fathers was quick to appoint City Finance Director, Livingston Churu as the new Acting Town Clerk and Assistant Director, (City Planning), and Mr Tapiwa Marerwa as the new Chamber Secretary.
Gweru Mayor, Councillor Hamutendi Kombayi appointed the two on behalf of council. Some Gweru residents in Gweru Progressive Residents & Rate Payers Development Trust (GUPRARDA) whatsapp group said are in support of the city council’s decision to suspend the Town Clerk Chikwekwe saying it sends the right message towards improving service delivery.
Town Clerk’s duties include supervising and controlling the activities of council employees, managing the operations and property of council and proper administration of council, among others.
What is of concern, residents said is that the gross inefficiency manifests itself on several occasions and the first case in point is on failure to take steps to comply with the procurement procedures.
Kwedu News recently established that last year one student bought state of the art vehicle and established his own company from proceeds earned from a myriad of procurement scandals.
Churu and Marerwa’s appointments come barely a few days after the Town clerk’s arrest and dragged before the courts.
In a letter, signed by His Worship the Mayor of Gweru Hamutendi Kombayi dated 20 February 2023, Mr Chikwekwe was relieved from his duties until cleared by the courts.
“As per circular No CX/154 from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works you are kindly requested to recuse yourself from your duties until you are cleared by the Courts.
May you kindly handover to Mr I. Churu and Mr ID Marerwa who shall be acting in the capacity as Town Clerk and Chamber Secretary respectively” reads the letter.
In a second letter, Mayor Kombayi notified council of the immediate appointment of Mr Churu and Mr Marerwa to the positions of Acting Town Clerk and Chamber Secretary respectively.
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