Byo mayor mum on Town clerk post

Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
BULAWAYO City Council Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo was evasive yesterday on the city’s resolution to appoint Sikhangele Zhou as the new Town Clerk. Sources within the local authority last week told The Chronicle that city fathers resolved to appoint Zhou even though she had come third in interviews for the job.

In an interview yesterday, the city’s Mayor Clr Moyo said council has not communicated its position. “We haven’t gone official on that. We’re still undergoing internal processes. Even the successful candidates haven’t been informed. There are a lot of procedures we’re still to follow. We haven’t even communicated our position to the Local Government Board (LGB),” said Clr Moyo.

The LGB has the final say on the appointment. The decision by councillors to give Zhou, the current Chamber Secretary, the top council job raises eyebrows as sources said she came third in interviews for the position.

Other shortlisted candidates were Victoria Falls Town Clerk Christopher Dube, former Tsholotsho Rural District Council chief executive officer, Ronnie Dube and Hwange Colliery Company finance manager Gift Sibanda. However, close sources last week told the Chronicle that council had settled on Zhou.

“She (Zhou) came third in the interviews but councillors agreed that she should take up the position. Victoria Falls Town Clerk Christopher Dube came out tops in the interviews while Ronnie Dube came second. Councillors opted for Zhou because they said she was up to the task,” said the source.

“The general purposes committee members, the Mayor and his Deputy, had selected Dube from Victoria Falls for the job. But other councillors said Zhou was the right person for the council’s top post. They argued that council had achieved a lot under her leadership so they felt it wasn’t okay to disturb a working system. The councillors said after all Dube is coming from a smaller town and might not be able to shoulder bigger responsibilities.”