Bulawayo’s Town Clerk, Christopher Dube, officially vacated his post at midnight on September 30, 2024, following the expiration of his four-year contract.
This marks a significant transition for the city’s administration as the search for a substantive Town Clerk begins.
According to a statement from the office of the Acting Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, the contract ended without approval for an extension from the Local Government Board, despite an earlier council resolution to extend it.
“Whereas Council had resolved (7 February 2024) to extend the contract subject to approval by the Local Government Board, a request for approval was sent on the 25th of March 2024. However, by the end of the day on September 30, 2024, such approval had not been obtained,” Acting Mayor Ndlovu said in the statement.
The City of Bulawayo will now begin the process of finding a new Town Clerk.
In the interim, Sikhangele Zhou, the Chamber Secretary, will serve as Acting Town Clerk, as provided for in the Urban Councils Act, Chapter 29:15.
Dube was recruited and engaged in October 2016 on a four year term limit contract up to September 2020 and the contract was subject to renewal dependent on performance.
The contract was fixed for two four year terms, with the initial contract expiring in September 2020 and was renewed in October of the same year (2020) to expire in September 2024.
Dube, who held the position for four years, is known for a heated confrontation with former Deputy Mayor, Tinashe Kambarami and former Ward 4 councillor Silas Chigora that took place in the council in July 2019.
During the altercation, Kambarami and Chifora accused Dube of several allegations ranging from abuse of office incompetence and theft, seeking to suspend him while Dube also hurled some verbal insults at the two as he defended himself.
On February 7, 2024, it was reported that the council had made a decision to extend Dube’s contract beyond the initial four year contract, reported to be aligning with the legislative changes under the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.
At the time, Bulawayo mayor, David Coltart said the decision to extend Dube’s tenure was an endorsement of his leadership and the council’s advancement of key city projects.
