The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online Reporter
HUNDREDS of mourners today gathered at Lady Stanley cemetery to bid farewell to Bulawayo town clerk Mr Middleton Nyoni.
Mr Nyoni, 62, succumbed to a cancer ailment on Sunday at a Harare hospital where he was receiving treatment.
Speaker after speaker described the late town clerk as a true man of the people who always had the interests of the city at heart.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Engineer George Mlilo paid gratitude to Mr Nyoni’s 33 years of dedicated service to the local authority.
He said the late town clerk was a dedicated man who had a deep love for the city of Bulawayo.
“He was a self-made man, starting as a lowly accountant and rising through the ranks to the pinnacle of the organisation. His quiet diplomacy and integrity together with his ever increasing levels of wisdom put him in good stead for this challenging position.
“The many people who knew him will miss an intelligent, vibrant individual with a rare friendliness and charming personality. Mr Nyoni was a genuinely warm individual. I recall with wonder that despite his illness, he did not give in but instead continued to exhibit his selfless dedication to serving the people of Bulawayo,” said Eng Mlilo.
He said the late town clerk had left a legacy of excellence in service delivery and innovation.
Also speaking at the burial, Bulawayo mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said Mr Nyoni’s conduct epitomised the core values of the City of Bulawayo which are integrity, transparency, accountability, efficiency, fairness and equal opportunity.
“It would be amiss of me not to highlight the love and loyalty that Middleton had for the people of Bulawayo. How he would have wanted to see the city emerge from its current economic demise to its rightful place as the leader in local governance excellence with a vibrant economy; always encouraging and fostering closer co-operation with the business community through the various representative organisations.
“From the years of Dr Mike Ndubiwa to the late Stanley Donga, the city of Bulawayo has been most fortunate in raising the administrative bar in local government management. We have not been disappointed as these men applied themselves with vigour and excellence. Middleton stepped into their shoes and did us proud as well, more so as he did so during those challenging days in late 2008 into 2009 when the ship really needed to be steadied over troubled waters,” said Clr Moyo.
The burial was attended by a number of councillors, both past and present, senior officials in the local government sector, residents, business people and number of individuals who worked with Mr Nyoni.
Mr Nyoni joined the council as section accounting officer-audit on 1 December 1983 and held various positions which included senior accounting officer, principal accountant–main accounts, assistant city treasurer– accountancy, deputy city treasurer and city Treasurer.
He was appointed Town Clerk on 6 May 2009 and had been in that position till his untimely death.
