The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata : Senior Reporter
Mutare City Council has sent to the Local Government Board names of three candidates it shortlisted to take over the Town Clerk’s job which fell vacant following the resignation of Mr Obert Muzawazi at the beginning of the year.Although mayor, Councillor Tatenda Nhamarare, refused to divulge the identity of the candidates who made it into the last three, reliable sources at the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, said the list was made up of current Rusape Town Secretary, Mr Joshua Maligwa, Mutare senior committee officer, Mr Christian Sithole and Mr Ronnie Dube.
“I can’t divulge the names of the candidates at this stage, but what I can tell you is that we conducted the interviews and out of the nine applicants we had, we came up with the best three.
“We have sent the names of the shortlisted candidates to the Local Government Board and we are waiting for the relevant correspondence,” said Cllr Nhamarare.
The mayor said the city was in need of a substantive town clerk to implement several projects that are still hanging.
Engineer Donald Nyatoti is the acting city boss.
Sources said from the interviews done by the local authority, Mr Sithole who has vast experience of activities at the Civic Centre came out tops followed by Mr Dube and then Mr Maligwa.
Once approved by the Local Government Board, the candidate who will land the hot post has a big task to tackle in terms of improving service delivery in the eastern border city.
Currently, the local authority is failing to provide water, rehabilitate roads and collect garbage because of a poor rates collection system that has resulted in massive financial bottlenecks.
Workers have gone for years without salaries because council is collecting less than 50 percent of what it bills every month.
City clinics have virtually disintegrated characterised by incessant health worker strikes.
