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Municipal Reporter
CCC Harare councillors are desperately pushing to be part of the recruitment panel of both top and middle managers, risking fears they want to appoint cronies in influential council positions.
The city’s human resources and general purposes committee led by CCC Councillor Kudzai Kadzombe wants councillors to be panellists during interviews of grade 1 to 6 employees.
According to a recent human resources and general purposes committee minutes the councillors recommended to amend the city’s recruitment policy and procedure.
“That the current recruitment policy and procedure be amended as follows councillors will be part of the interview panel for senior management positions down to Grade 6.
“Interviews for senior management positions should be publicly conducted and streamed live. A residents association representative should supervise the shortlisting of candidates for senior management positions in council service,” reads part of the recommendation.
The committee recommended that the councillors be provided with the appropriate training to enable their effective participation on interview panels for the recruitment of candidates.
It also recommended that a residents association that participates in the shortlisting for senior management positions should not be part of the interview panel.
The human resources committee further said that one representative of a different residents association should sit on the interview panel. The Clr Kadzombe-led committee has since refused to accede to the request by the Local Government Board for the position of Chamber Secretary to be re-advertised.
The Local Government Board is empowered through the Urban Councils Act to approve or disapprove the appointment of seconded personnel from council after thorough vetting.
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) programmes manager Mr Reuben Akili said what is key to understand is what do they want to achieve and is it standard best practice.
“Councillors should stay away from day to day operations and stick to policy making. They should at least end at grade 4.
“The moment they immerse themselves in recruiting grade sixes it is a mammoth task which may entail that they may be engrossed in day to day operations,” he said.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said local authorities should appoint a panel of human resources experts and citizens representatives to participate in the whole process including the interviewing in order to provide checks and balances.
“The current system allows for the continued politicisation of the recruitment process. Citizens and other civil society organisations should be observers to guard against the manipulation of council personnel,” he said.
Our publication recently exposed CCC councillors hatched plan to make the council ungovernable through wanton disregard of protocol, sacking of management deemed anti-opposition and imposing their corrupt cronies.
Leaked resolutions and audios from a meeting convened on April 6 this year at Sherwood Golf Course in Mabelreign attended by CCC councillors revealed the plots and sub-plots by the opposition councillors to throw a blanket around their past sleazy dealings and avert possible arrest.
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