Gwanda defies Chombo's ultimatum to appoint 'Zanu-PF apologist'

GWANDA Town Council has reportedly defied Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo's ultimatum to appoint Priscilla Nkala, an alleged Zanu PF apologist, by Thursday as the council's chamber secretary.

Chombo had written to acting Gwanda mayor Sithokozile Sibanda in a letter dated February 6 to appoint Nkala to the position before February 21 and said he was "deeply concerned over the council's continued snub of his directives".

Efforts to get a comment from Sibanda proved fruitless as she was said to be out of office and her mobile phone went unanswered.
However, sources in the municipality said the directive was ignored because the matter surrounding the appointment of Nkala was before the High Court in Bulawayo and Chombo is viewed as being "on a persecution path".

When NewsDay attempted to get a comment from Chombo over the defiance by the local authority, his mobile number  was not reachable.

For defying his directives, the local authority was barred from making any staff recruitments until Nkala was appointed.

Nkala's appointment saga led to the suspension of the town's mayor Lionel De Necker last year. He has since challenged Chombo's decision to suspend him in the High Court.