Harare, Zimbabwe – Chaos erupted at Harare Town House on Tuesday during an ordinary council meeting when suspended town clerk Hosiah Chisango defied his suspension and attempted to attend. The incident, which saw media personnel briefly removed from the council chambers, highlighted the ongoing tensions surrounding Chisango’s position and the allegations against him.
Chisango’s appearance at the council meeting was met with confusion amongst councillors. Mayor Mafume acted swiftly to regain control of the situation, temporarily removing media personnel from the chamber before the meeting resumed without Chisango’s presence.
The Mayor confirmed Chisango’s suspension, citing the Urban Councils Act, which requires notification of the council, either in writing or at the earliest opportunity.
“As you are aware in terms of the Urban Councils Act, when I take action against the town clerk I am required to notify the council either in writing or at the earliest possible opportunity,” Mafume stated.
“We have proceeded to use that section to suspend the town clerk whose letter is on record and has been served on him. He has received it. We discussed the importance of that letter which he understood. He is suspended until he answers to the charges we have levelled against him. The charges are well articulated in the letter, they have to do with procurement issues that they were arrested under; they have to do with the issue of ERP, the organogram of the organisation; they have to do with his contract as the town clerk,” he explained.
Chisango’s name has also repeatedly emerged during the ongoing Commission of Inquiry, chaired by retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda, which is investigating the City Council’s operations since 2017. The commission’s findings are expected to shed further light on the allegations against Chisango and the wider issues of governance within the Harare City Council.
In his letter of suspension, Mafume cited multiple breaches of statutory regulations which could lead to financial losses for the council.
“Grounds for suspension, The employer has a good cause to believe that you have committed a serious misconduct in that you contravened Section 4(a) of the National Code i.e. S.I. 15 of 2006 otherwise known as ‘Any act or conduct or omission inconsistent with the fulfilment of the express or implied conditions of his or her contract”. You did so in one or more of the following ways;
“You misconducted yourself in the procurement and award of a tender for street lights to Jukula Enterprises in that you awarded the contract to a blacklisted company which had a record of breaching its tender obligations. Or that you awarded a tender to a company owned by proprietors of blacklisted companies thereby exposing Council to potential financial losses and which company in this case had not won the tender. In doing so you have failed one of your primary functions as the accounting officer which is to protect the council’s interest,” said Mafume.
In addition to the tender issues, the Town Clerk has been criticized for failing to secure effective Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for the management of the council’s billing and accounting systems over five years.
“As the Accounting Officer you have failed to secure an effective Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) Software and System support for the management of the Council’s billing and accounting systems for about 5 years. This has resulted in failure to carry out statutory audits, to obtain timeous budget approvals and also has led to adverse reports by the Auditor General, Moreso, you have generally mishandled the (“ERP”) procurement and tender processes leading to several court challenges and attracted negative publicity thereby putting the name of the organisation into disrepute”, added Mafume.
Furthermore, adding to the controversy, the Town Clerk is accused of extending his contract indefinitely after its expiration in July 2023, without the required authorization.
“You effected changes to the council organogram and structure by appointing senior council officers to Grades 1, 2 and 3 without Council Authority and without the approval of the Local Governance Board in terms of Section 134(1) of the Urban Council’s Act. In particular, you appointed a senior council official to Grade 1B without the requisite approvals. You also appointed more senior officials from Grade 4 to Grade 3 without the necessary approvals. In doing so you abused your authority and also undermined the authority of Council and the Local Government Board.
“At the expiry of your fixed term contract around July 2023, you proceeded to give yourself a contract without limit of time without the knowledge and authority of the council and without the approval of the Local Government Board in terms of Section 132(1) of the Urban Council’s Act. In violation of the circular issued on the 26th of June 2014 paragraph 2.2 by the Ministry of Local Government and approved by Cabinet”.
The suspension is with pay and other benefits.
“During the period of your suspension, you shall not be allowed to attend the workplace or carry out any duties unless directed to do so by the Mayor. You are requested not to interfere with Council staff and other witnesses in the matter,” further reads the letter.
