By Staff Reporter
Harare – City of Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has suspended the town clerk, Hosiah Chisango, over a series of allegations of misconduct.
The suspension, effective from September 30, outlines several grounds for Chisango’s removal from duty.
In July, Chisango was arrested and charged with unprocedurally awarding a US$9.2 million tender to Juluka Enndo Joint Venture, a company owned by businessman Moses Mpofu, without following due process.
Mafume emphasized that the suspension was taken “in terms of Section 6(1) of Statutory Instrument 15 of 2006 as read with Section 139(3)(a) of the Urban Council’s Act (Chapter 29:15).”
Among the allegations leveled against the town clerk were procurement irregularities, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system mismanagement, and unauthorized appointments.
“You misconducted yourself in the procurement and award of a tender for street lighting 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.
“In doing so you failed one of your primary functions as the accounting officer which is to protect the council’s interests,” Mafume wrote in the suspension letter.
Last week, Mafume engaged in a heated verbal altercation with Chisango, following Chisango’s abrupt return to work after being released on bail.
Chisango’s reappearance was in direct defiance of a government order barring local authority officials from resuming their duties until they were fully exonerated from pending charges.
In a scathing letter, Mafume accused Chisango, as the accounting officer, of failing to implement a functional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for the city in the past five years.
“As the Accounting Officer you have failed to secure an effective Enterprise Resource Planning Software and System support for the management of the Councils billing and accounting systems for about 5 years.
“This has resulted in the failure to carry out statutory audits, to obtain timeous budget approvals and has also led to adverse reports by the Auditor General.
“Moreso, you have generally mishandled the n procurement and tender processes leading to several court challenges and attracted negative publicity thereby putting the name of the organization into disrepute,” wrote Mafume.
Additionally, Chisango is alleged to have appointed senior council officials to higher grades without proper authorization, violating Section 134(1) of the Urban Council’s Act.
Chisango’s suspension is with pay and other benefits.
During the suspension period, he is prohibited from reporting for duty, entering any of the employer’s premises, or acting on behalf of the City of Harare.
The town clerk has been given three days to respond to the allegations.