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Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Suspended Harare City Council Health Services director Dr Prosper Chonzi is set to bounce back at Town House after he was cleared by a tribunal tasked to investigate alleged defiance by city executives to cut salaries in line with a 2013 Government directive.
The public health specialist was temporarily engaged by Government to help with a cholera outbreak which broke out in September last year.
Recent minutes of the Human Resources and General Purposes Committee chaired by Councillor Jacob Mafume showed that the committee considered a confidential report by Rtd Major Matthew Marara, recommending that council notes the outcome of the disciplinary hearing in respect of Dr Chonzi and the decision to clear the senior council employee to resume work once council processes had been completed.
“The acting human capital director reported that our heads of department (Dr Cainos Chingombe and Mr Tendai Kwenda), including the then acting town clerk (Mrs Josephine Ncube) had been suspended from council service pending disciplinary hearings in view of the recommendations of a tribunal that investigated issues to do with executives’ salaries,” read the minutes.
“Two of the suspected executives had subsequently been recommended for dismissal from council service and the matter was currently before the Local Government Board. However, the disciplinary hearing absolved the director of Health Services of the charges levelled against him and, therefore, cleared him to resume duty.”
During discussion, the acting town lerk Mr Charles Kandemiri reported that council’s external lawyers had advised that the city’s chances of success on appeal against the verdict of the disciplinary committee were slim.
They further advised the city to consider the second option in the verdict of reinstating Dr Chonzi.
Following further discussion, the committee resolved to recommend that council notes the outcome of the disciplinary hearing in respect Dr Chonzi and that it clears him to resume work once council’s processes are completed.
An audit report sanctioned by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing noted that the city executives continued to earn between $12 000 and $21 000 from October 2014 to June 2015, as opposed to $10 450 for the highest earner as stipulated by the Government.
The report indicated that council was prejudiced of $550 000.
Government was yet to respond to Harare’s decision to fire the other two directors who were found guilty of maladministration and awarding themselves unapproved salaries.
Online Reporter