Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
BULAWAYO councillors have endorsed the extension of the Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube’s contract by a further five years.
Mr Dube joined the local authority in October 2016, and his contract was expected to end in September. Before joining Bulawayo, Mr Dube was Victoria Falls town clerk. The councillors last Wednesday, in a closed-door session, unanimously voted to have the local authority’s chief executive officer’s contract extended by a further five years.
This comes after the all-powerful general purposes council committee had voted six to one in favour of the contract extension. The general purposes committee is made up of the six council committee chairpersons and the Mayor. Impeccable council sources revealed that councillors opted for continuity as they felt the process of looking for a replacement would impact negatively on service delivery.
“The matter was endorsed without any discussion at all as councillors had already decided to award Mr Dube with a contract extension at their party caucus. Councillors felt that the town clerk still had a lot to offer to the city judging by the achievements he has made in the four years he has been at the helm of the local authority,” said the source.
Contacted for comment, the city’s Mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni confirmed that councillors had voted to renew Mr Dube’s contract saying it was motivated by the need to maintain stability and for continuity.
“In terms of the law, as a mayor I am mandated to handle the town clerk’s contract so I had to engage the policy makers to also get their input on the matter, seeing that Mr Dube’s contract was coming to an end in September. I am happy to say the councillors looked at the matter and felt there was a need to maintain stability and continuity within the local authority. Councillors assessed the projects which he has done and felt it was proper to give him a further five years in office,” said Clr Mguni.
Online Reporter