Eight jostle for Bulawayo Town Clerk position

THE Bulawayo City Council has shortlisted eight candidates, including top local Government officials, for the post of Town Clerk after the selection committee sieved through more than 20 applications.

Sunday News reported that although Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo who is leading the interviewing panel for the position declined to give details pertaining to short-listed candidates, impeccable council sources have revealed that eight people will be interviewed for the job including Acting Town Clerk Sikhangele Zhou.

Apart from Zhou, others who have been short-listed include Bulawayo provincial administrator Khonzani Ncube, Lupane local board town secretary Gilbert Dube, former BCC Chambers Secretary and Plumtree town council secretary Davies Luthe, Chitungwiza town secretary  George Makunde, former Tsholotsho Rural District Council chief executive officer  Ronnie Dube, Hwange Colliery finance manager  Gift Sibanda and former MDC-T Bulawayo provincial administrator Nkululeko Ndlovu.

The city Town Clerk's position fell vacant following the death of Middleton Nyoni in September last year.

 Zhou, who is also the Chambers Secretary, has been Acting Town Clerk since August 2014 as  Nyoni who had been battling a cancer-related illness was on an indefinite sick leave.

The sources revealed that  Makunde was the first to submit his papers while  Zhou submitted on the very last day with reports suggesting she was reluctant to enter the fray but was later convinced by some quarters who felt that the position should be given to someone who was already under the local authority's employ.  Zhou is also an experienced legal practitioner.

"We got over 20 applications for that position, the first stage has now been completed whereas the list was trimmed to eight, of which this eight will now be interviewed by the council's General Purposes Committee that is chaired by Clr Moyo," said the source.

Responding to written questions, Clr Moyo said the local authority will be done with the selection process by end of this month.

"According to the laid down procedure the post is flighted in the print media. The applications were received until the closing day, Thursday 31 March 2016. The process thereafter in terms of the Urban Councils Act will entail the shortlisting of the candidates by the General Purposes committee on the first or second week of April.

"Interviews will then be done by the General Purposes Committee as the interviewing panel at a special meeting on the third or fourth week of April. The committee will then submit a report and recommendations to council for ratification on 4 May," said Clr Moyo.

He said the local authority will then submit the name of the successful candidate to the Local Government Board in the second week of May after which the board will then conduct its own interview and subsequently communicate to the local authority.

"As council we should be done by end of April hopefully we will then wait for the interviews from the Local Government Board and their timelines but everything is now on course but one emphasis which we should lay down is that we are looking for a professional manager who will lead this city to greater heights," he said.