Online Reporter
Remember Deketeke-Municipal Correspondent
THE City of Harare has announced that newly-appointed substantive chamber secretary Mr Warren Chiwawa will also serve as town clerk.
Mr Chiwawa, a lawyer, will assume the duties of the town clerk in terms of the Urban Councils Act following his approval by the Local Government Board and subsequent appointment by council.
In terms of Section 137(2) of the Urban Councils Act, which outlines the functions of the chamber secretary, the office holder assumes the responsibilities of town clerk whenever the position is vacant, or the incumbent is absent, incapacitated or fails to act.
Mr Chiwawa takes over the town clerk portfolio from director of water Engineer Mabhena Moyo, who had been overseeing the functions.
“Whenever the office of town clerk is vacant or the town clerk is absent or incapacitated or fails to act, the chamber secretary shall perform the functions conferred or imposed upon the town clerk by this Act or any other law or by any resolution of the council,” reads the Act.
Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume said the appointment was in accordance with the law.
“That’s what the law says, but he can probably appoint or allow for the appointment of a town clerk while he settles in. I will find out from him, as he is the chief legal adviser,” he said.
The city’s last substantive town clerk, Engineer Hosiah Chisango left the council last year following allegations of corruption. He had served the council for more than three decades.
As chamber secretary, Mr Chiwawa will serve as the city’s principal legal adviser and custodian of council records, occupying a critical post that had remained vacant for eight years following the departure of Mrs Josephine Ncube in 2018.
Mr Chiwawa was appointed during the council’s last full meeting following a recruitment process that commenced in March 2024, with interviews conducted by an eight-member panel chaired by then town clerk Engineer Chisango.
Other candidates interviewed included former Chitungwiza Municipality chamber secretary Ms Charity Maunga and council legal officer Ms Alice Zeure.
