MUTARE- City council business has dramatically stalled as a leadership crisis has gripped the municipality, with the Mayor Blessing Tandi facing a recall has suspended the acting Town Clerk.
Tandi is at loggerheads with Mutare city fathers for unanimously suspending acting Town Clerk, Engineer Tinashe Mtetwa.
Eng Mtetwa’s suspension has triggered a fallout with Tandi’s deputy, Councillor Farai Bhiza who reinstated the Acting Town Clerk with the backing of other councilors according to an internal council memo.
Eng Mtetwa is reportedly refusing to vacate his post.
He was not only suspended but also removed in unclear circumstances from the eight shortlisted candidates in the Town Clerk interviews.
“As long as I am the Mayor of Mutare l will push for the resolutions of council and one such standing resolution is the appointment of a substantive TC.
“We will go forward with the interviews,” said an adamant Thandi, addressing a Transparency International Zimbabwe, regional Anti-Corruption symposium.
Council business has stalled this year despite procurement of several service machinery and management vehicles in a recapitalisation processes spearheaded by the late Town Clerk Joshua Maligwa from 2017.
Maligwa who succumbed to Covid-19 early last year was briefly replaced by Finance Director Chafesuka in a cameo sting before Health Services Director, Dr Anthony Mutara took over only to fell off the helm following his arrest by the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) for abuse of office.
After Mutara’s unceremonious departure, the youthful Eng Mtetwa took reins at the eastern border town.
Meanwhile, Mayor Tandi is also in the eye of the storm for allegedly pushing questionable deals including the recent quarry mining lease to a Chinese miner, Freestones Mine Pvt (Ltd).
Over a thousand residents have signed a petition against the mining deal, described by Mayor Thandi as a ‘sweet deal’, for an annual lease of US$7 500,00.
