The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Municipal Reporter
THE Tsholotsho business community has petitioned the Government over the shortlist of candidates for the Tsholotsho Rural District Council chief executive officer citing irregularities in the interviewing process.
Tsholotsho RDC has been operating without a substantive CEO since it parted ways with Mr Themba Moyo early this year.
Last week, the local authority released a shortlist of eight candidates — after holding interviews for the post — which they have since forwarded to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
The shortlisted candidates are; Munutewell Ncube, a former CEO of Tsholotsho and losing MDC candidate for Tsholotsho South in the 2013 election, Nkululeko Sibanda, a former District Administrator at Insiza RDC, acting Tsholotsho RDC CEO Nkululeko Sibanda, Victor Mpofu, Prosper Msindazi Dlodlo, Pios Ncube, Sibangiso Ndlovu (only female candidate), Jusa Zacharia and Sikhumbuzo Moyo.
However, in the latest developments the business committee of Tsholotsho last week signed a petition which they forwarded to the ministry citing irregularities in the selection process. According to the petition the business community further raised a red flag on the interviewing panel, alleging it was chaired by someone of a lower grade than the position being sought.
“We expected that someone senior from the Provincial Administrator’s office could delegate such an exercise. We demand that this be looked into. The panelists, especially the technical people, were junior for this post and were easily bulldozed and dictated to in telling them the people desired. Secondly, according to council policy, after shortlisting the list, it was supposed to be kept a secret and go through the council’s human resources committee but we were shocked to find it posted in our business community and residents’ groups by the council chairperson,” reads part of the petition.
The petition further alleges that the shortlist was publicised before the shortlisted candidates were informed. The business community further called on the ministry not to consider the list that was submitted by the RDC, calling on the re-advertisement of the post and appointment of a competent panel to conduct the process.
“To avoid a false start we demand your good office to take action and suspend all processes that have been carried out, carry out an investigation into the shortlisting process and possibly order re-advertisement using the guidelines from the ministry.
“We request that the ministry assigns experienced and senior Local Government officers in the ministry to carry out the shortlisting process. We are of the view that with the way the shortlisting was done, the whole process will be challenged by those who applied and this might delay the whole process of hiring the CEO for the district,” reads the petition.
The business community further singles out Clr Esau Siwela for allegedly causing disharmony in the operations of the RDC alleging that he was constantly interfering in the day to day operations.
“We wonder what has happened to the proper communication protocol through the Provincial Administrator’s office because the council chairperson always says he gets direction from the principal director. The chairman always threatens councillors and officers using the principal director’s name, even to the shortlisting the panel he told them that he has links with the head office as such all he was telling them had the backing of the principal director,” reads the petition.
Contacted for comment Clr Siwela disputed the allegations saying everything was done above board. He claimed that the people who had signed the petition were just bitter that their preferred candidates had not made it to the final shortlist.
“These people expected their own people to be shortlisted, now that they have seen the shortlist they start complaining. The panel was not set by me but the PA’s office. As the council chairperson I was just an observer. We have the minutes of the interviews, but the issue is that we cannot choose everyone, we had 57 candidates but not everyone can be chosen. Besides I feel they are not the business community as the business community I have spoken to are happy with the shortlist, these are people who just want to mud sling,” said Clr Siwela.
