Harare amends recruitment policy

Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent
Harare City Council has amended its recruitment policy on the selection of the town clerk and senior management making the presence of residents’ associations and former mayors or alderman in the process optional, instead of mandatory.

The development comes as the city is set to appoint a substantive town clerk this week.
It has since authorised the Human Resources and General Purposes Committee to proceed with interviewing the 11 shortlisted candidates vying for the position.

The interviews were scheduled to be held yesterday as the city has gone for over 30 months without a substantive town clerk, hence the need to urgently fill the position.

According to recent minutes of the Human Resources and General Purposes Committee, acting human capital director Major Matthew Marara (Retired) said the composition of the interviewing panel for the town clerk will include five members from the HR Committee, two chairpersons of other committees and the chamber secretary.

Two representatives of residents associations in Harare and one former mayor or alderman of the city of Harare may be part of the interviewing panel and a consultant who will not be scoring the performance of interviewees.

“That council approves the amendment to the city of Harare’s recruitment policy and procedures by changing the composition of the interview panel for positions in Grades 4 to 1,” reads the minutes.

“That any council resolution or policy, which is inconsistent with the recommendations be rescinded in so far as the inconsistency exists.”

Major Marara (Retired) added that the previous inclusion of all members of the HR Committee panel of interviews for the town clerk position and senior management posed challenges in view of the numbers involved.

He said in terms of good corporate governance, the HR Committee could also not recommend successful candidates to itself as the approving committee.

The interviewing panel for the director’s position will comprise four members of the HR Committee, the town clerk, human capital director, one member of the relevant Committee under whose purview the vacant position falls and a consultant.

For the position of the city’s manager, it shall comprise three members of the HR Committee, human capital director, specialist or technical expert, director of the department and one member of the committee under whose purview the vacant position falls.