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Harare is easily Zimbabwe’s largest city, the power house of its economy and needs to be properly run if desperately desired economic growth is to continue.
And right now, the city is not being properly run. Harare City Council hired a new town clerk, the top professional in its administration. For some reason it chose a former banker, Mr James Mushore, a person with no previous experience in local government and no obvious special qualifications for the post.
Perhaps he was the best candidate. But there is a fairly simple system in place to ensure that desired candidates are independently assessed. Harare was supposed to submit Mr Mushore’s name and the name of two other potential candidates, to the Local Government Board.
The report and recommendations of the board would then allow council to think carefully who it really wanted and ensure that the final shortlist contained only qualified candidates.
Council did not consult the board, so the Government, through the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, nullified the appointment and told the council to go through the proper procedure. Council refused so the Government, again through the minister, suspended Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni.
Now MDC-T as a party wants to remove Acting Mayor Christopher Mbanga for refusing to recognise the appointment of Mr Mushore.
While all this is going on, amendments to the Urban Councils Act are winding their way through Parliament to ensure, among other things, that the Local Government Board is a trusted independent body.
This is important because top posts in any council and especially in Harare, must go to men and women who are superbly qualified.
Running the administration of the city does not require amateurs or people whose main qualification is friendship with politicians or belonging to a party which dominates council.
The mayor and council are not there to run the city.
They are there to decide priorities and policies, using information supplied by their professional advisors on costs and benefits and then leave it to the professionals to implement those policies.
This requires that the professionals and the town clerk in particular, are able to offer the best advice, are able to generate options and give councillors the costs and benefits of these options and then implement something that is desired, is legal and is possible.
Such professionals cannot afford to be beholden to partisan interests.
We think there is an obvious solution to the present growing crisis in Harare. Everyone must return to the status quo ante, that is Mr Mushore’s appointment is put on hold, Mr Manyenyeni’s suspension is lifted and Mr Mbanga’s political party holds fire.
As soon as an independent Local Government Board is in place and this should be soon, the whole matter of a Harare town clerk is addressed from the beginning and this time properly.
This will ensure that Harare has a town clerk generally considered the best qualified and, just as important, that such a person is able to resist political pressure and having no political debts, is able to give the councillors dispassionate professional advice and get the administration of the city running smoothly once again.
For all we know, that person may well be Mr Mushore, and if so, let his appointment go through the proper legal hurdles and an independent competitive assessment. It is that simple. Ratepayers are not interested in the current circus where parties are using individual appointments as wrestling pawns.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter