Kwekwe shortlists three candidates

Michael Magoronga , Midlands Correspondent
KWEKWE City Council has shortlisted three candidates for consideration for the position of the city’s substantive town clerk.

Last year, councillors passed a resolution to appoint acting town clerk Dr Lucia Mnkandla as substantive town clerk following interviews that were conducted in 2019, but the Local Government Board overturned the decision and ordered that the interviews be redone.

In a letter to the local authourity, Local Government Board chairperson Mr Stephen Chakaipa noted that there were some irregularities in the submission of the names.

Dr Mnkandla has been acting town clerk since 2017 following the retirement of Mr Emmanuel Musara.

According to Kwekwe mayor Councillor Future Titora, 15 candidates who expressed interest in the position went through interviews and three names were forwarded to Government.

Those forwarded include Dr Mnkandla, a lawyer who is former Kwekwe chamber secretary Mr Edward Mapara and Gweru City Council assistant director of finance Mr Owen Masimba.

“We conducted interviews in late 2021 and we had the three names that we forwarded to the Government for further processing.

We are glad that our interviews went on well and those are the people who came out tops. We now await the Government’s decision,” said Cllr Titora.

She said this time they conducted the interviews in line with guidelines set by the Local Government Board.

In rescinding the council’s decision last year, the Local Government Board also noted that council flouted procedures while conducting interviews.

“Some shortlisted candidates did not submit the relevant qualifications together with their application letters but were shortlisted.

“Some of the shortlisted candidates responded beyond your due date on the advertisement and you proceeded to consider them for interviews,” noted the board.

It also said council did not follow proper guidelines in the Ministry’s Recruitment and Selection Functions within local authorities.

The September 2017 Recruitment and Selection Functions within Urban Councils reads: “…the interview for the Town Clerk should be carried out by a panel of professionals with the chairperson of the committee responsible for human resources as a member.”

“In view of the above observations, the Board resolved that your council re-advertise the post of Town Clerk and follow all recruitment and selection procedures before submitting the council’s recommendations to the board,” the board advised.