Bad corporate governance cripples Harare progress

What is happening at the Harare City Council is not pleasing at all, as systems appear to be in a mess, calling for urgent action to return the city to a proper development path and good corporate governance.

The chaotic way in which the city is being administered has resulted in negligence when it comes to service delivery and pursuing of developmental programmes.

Those entrusted with running Harare have to quickly realise that whatever happens in the capital has some bearing on the country in general.

Harare is the face of the country and there is no doubt that it is the most watched by both locals and foreigners.

But it seems those at the city council do not care about all the millions of eyes watching.

The governance of Harare is in shambles, while the MDC-Alliance, which runs the city, stands idle and preside over such an unacceptable path.

Management chaos

That Harare’s management is chaotic is actually an understatement, it is dysfunctional, to say the least.

Just how can a properly run city fail to have proper management protocols to an extent that people have the audacity to appoint themselves to high positions?

Two weeks ago, the city woke up to unpleasant news that director of works Engineer Zvenyika Chawatama had allegedly appointed himself the acting town clerk, and was making executive decisions that had a bearing on council’s operations.

Circumstances were cited as that Eng Chawatama was appointed to act as town clerk for only three days, but when the incumbent returned to work, he continued to issue orders purporting to be the town clerk.

That Eng Chawatama ended up engaging in a high speed chase with the police who wanted to arrest him is now a matter of public record.

He escaped and he has not been accounted for.

Eng Chawatama’s behaviour obviously betrays the power struggles within the city council, which may also reflect the fights to run Harare between MDC-Alliance’s Nelson Chamisa and MDC-T’s Douglas Mwonzora.

Whoever gets the town clerk’s post under his belt becomes the chief enforcer of affairs at the city council.

To try and cover up the gap, acting mayor Stewart Mutizwa then appointed city health services director Dr Prosper Chonzi as the acting town clerk.

Dr Chonzi turned down the offer, arguing that the health department was heavily committed to fighting Covid-19 and because he did not feel himself qualified outside his public health profession to solve city problems.

“The city currently faces a myriad of challenges that include town planning and land management issues, water and sewer reticulation deficits, waste management, roads infrastructure, human resources and outstanding disciplinary cases, finance and cash flow challenges,” Dr Chonzi wrote to Clr Mutizwa, while declining the new post.

“All these challenges require a full time person focused on these matters and with the relevant competencies in the aforementioned areas.”

Now, the city faces a dilemma as it is being run without a town clerk, a crucial position as the office bearer is the overall manager of the city’s affairs.

The substantive town clerk, Mr Hosiah Chisango was suspended after being arrested for alleged criminal abuse of office or alternatively failing to prevent corruption after allegedly appointing a chief security officer outside his mandate.

The drama continued to unfold at the Harare City Council as those in acting capacities went on to appoint their own personal to various departments, a move viewed as illegal.

The background to this being that a number of city officials and workers were arrested mainly last year on corruption allegations, and these included director of housing services Addmore Nhekairo, Eng Chisango, human capital director and former housing director Matthew Marara and former city mayor Herbert Gomba.

Many other junior officers were also arrested and suspended, leaving too many vacancies open at the Harare City Council. The city is now grappling with double appointments within departments, as some city officials stampede to get rid of those perceived to be aligned to the suspended directors.

For example, Eng Chawatama had in his short, but troubled reign as self-imposed acting town clerk, appointed Mr Steward Mungofa as acting human capital director.

Before the appointment, Mr Mungofa was on suspension for gross misconduct.

The appointment came when there was another appointee to the same position — Mr Bozman Matengarufu — who had been appointed by Eng Chisango before his arrest.

In the housing department, revenue manager Mr Livingstone Churu was appointed the acting housing and community services director, despite that the same position is being held by head of education and social services Ms Lizzie Muchena.

A number of city managers and employees accused of corruption and arraigned before the courts have been put on suspension and leave pending internal investigations by the city council. These have since been replaced in acting capacity, resulting in numerous double payments that are draining the city’s coffers, as those on suspension are still receiving their full pay and benefits.

Among top positions gobbling the council funds through double payments are those of the housing director, monitoring and evaluation manager, city planner, city land development manager, chief land surveyor, principal housing officer and two district officers.

Devolution funds

Under such management chaos, many are now wondering how the Harare City Council will manage devolution funds which will be disbursed soon, after Treasury set aside $19,5 billion in this year’s national budget to be distributed among councils.

In fact, before discussing devolution funds, the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) handed over $46 million to the city council in October last year for filling potholes ahead of the rainy season.

Facts on the ground clearly show that this money was used elsewhere as no major works were undertaken in the city to fill potholes, which have become a menace to motorists.

A tight monitoring should be instituted by Government to ensure that when they are finally released, devolution funds are used on developing the city.

The fights around the town clerk’s post could actually be influenced by a desire to have access to such funds when they are eventually disbursed, and retain the influence on who is awarded tenders for the devolution programme.

The capacity for the city council to successfully implement the devolution programme is already in doubt.

It is important that the Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) have been working tirelessly to fight corruption at the Harare City Council.

SACU and ZACC have also extended their efforts to investigate corporate governance issues, and have nabbed a number of city officials for disregarding the tenets of corporate governance.

Apart from SACU and ZACC, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works should heighten its interest in the Harare City Council and take appropriate action as empowered by the attendant laws.

What is needed at the moment is to restore order at the Harare City Council and ensure that management functions in a way that moves the city’s developmental agenda forward.

Otherwise the city council will continue to burn at the expense of service delivery, with residents who religiously pay rates hoping the situation would improve suffering the most.-herald.cl.zw