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Herald Reporter
The Harare City Council is in a quandary on the status of Human Capital Director Mr Cainos Chingombe, who has been dismissed and reinstated on several occasions, despite legal opinion indicating the vicious cycle of events was unlawful.
Correspondence obtained from council indicate that Mr Chingombe has been fired and then reinstated on several occasions, leading to legal advisors raising doubts on good corporate governance in the city council.
The city council sought and got legal opinion from Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni Legal Practitioners which recommended that the best option available was to negotiate with Mr Chingombe for an amicable solution.
At another stage, it sought legal opinion from Gambe Law Group which made similar recommendations.
Mr Chingombe was dismissed by a disciplinary hearing in December 2017, but challenged the move at the High Court and lost.
He then approached the Supreme Court which reserved judgement in the case.
At the same time, his dismissal awaited the approval of the Local Government Board.
“Dr Chingombe is well within his rights to argue that the provisions of the Urban Councils Act relating to the approval of his discharge is still applicable,” wrote the lawyers in their legal opinion.
“And that in terms of Section 140(2) of the Urban Councils Act, his discharge from council service must be approved by the Local Government Board.”
The lawyers advised that the law was clear in that a person vested with decision-making powers could exercise those powers only once in relation to the same matter.
On November 20, 2020, the then Acting Town Clerk Dr Proper Chonzi wrote to Dr Chingombe advising him that he had been reinstated in council as human capital director.
“Your reinstatement in council was service was considered by the HR and GPC committee, minutes of the 10th November 2020, item 11 and adopted by the 1899th Ordinary Council meeting of 19 November 2020,” he wrote.
“Your reinstatement is with immediate effect and is subject in all due respect to the terms and conditions of executive staff.”
On November 26 2020, Dr Chonzi wrote to Dr Chingombe appointing him the acting town clerk for five days from November 26 to 30.
In December the same year, acting mayor Stewart Mutizwa appointed Dr Chingombe as the acting town clerk.
Then on 19 March this year, the then acting town clerk Engineer Mabhena Moyo wrote to Dr Chingombe advising him that he had been send on paid leave pending investigations.
Eng Mabhena followed up with another letter to Dr Chingombe informing him that his reinstatement of November 20, 2020 was being rescinded.
“Reference is made to the above matter and to the letter dated November 20, 2020 from acting town clerk to yourself pertaining your reinstatement into council service,” he wrote.
“Council adopted the recommendations of the Human Resources and General Purposes Committee on the 29 March 2021. This therefore means that your previous reinstatement into council service was rescinded.”
In between, council sought another legal opinion from Gambe Law Group on whether or not the opinion by Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni Legal Practitioners that council could not fire Dr Chonzi still stood.
Gambe Law Group replied council indicating that Dr Chingombe had a fair chance in terms of probabilities of succeeding in his case against the city council.
“Mr Chingombe was already previously reinstated despite having been convicted and dismissed by a tribunal,” said Gambe Law Group.
“His initial reinstatement, though legal, was already a violation of good governance standards since council decided to disregard his conviction by the tribunal.”
The law group advised council that termination of employment could only be done in terms of the Labour Act and not the Urban Councils Act, and thus the resolution to fire Dr Chingombe was likely to be deemed illegal by the Labour Court.
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