By Correspondent
Harare City Council is operating without substantive Directors in some key offices, creating a dangerous operational weakness in its structure.
The City has no substantive Town Clerk, Director of Finance, Human Capital Director or Chamber Secretary.
In a statement, Harare Residents Association said the vacuum is a result of resistance by councillors.
“The City of Harare continues to operate without a substantive Town Clerk, Chamber Secretary, Finance Director, Human Capital Director, Head of City Budgeting, and Regional Managers.
“These are senior management positions that should be filled by competent people recruited through a transparent and accountable process.
“There is real institutional capture in the City of Harare.
“The resistance of the councillors and some senior managers to filling the above positions is due to institutional capture.
“Harare City Council is a cartel paradise,” it said.
Harare Town Clerk
Engineer Hosiah Chisango is no longer the Town Clerk of Harare, following his amicable departure from the city council.
He left his post on 6 May in the wake of the State dropping charges against him in the solar street lights scandal.
Harare City Council director of water, Engineer Phakamile Mabhena Moyo, has been acting Town Clerk since then.
Director of Finance
Council does not currently have a permanent Director of Finance, and Godfrey Kusangaya is the Acting Finance Director.
The last substantive finance director, Tendai Kwenda, was suspended and dismissed in 2018 over allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.
His predecessor, Justin Mandizha, was also forced out after clashing with councillors and officials over financial reforms.
The position has remained vacant since 2018, with a series of acting finance directors occupying the role over the years.
The current acting finance director, Kusangaya, has held the post on a contract extended beyond retirement age.
The position was advertised twice, in 2023 and in October 2024.
Interviews were also held in February this year at a Harare hotel, overseen by both city officials and representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
Human Capital Director
The position has been fraught with instability since the 2017 suspension of the late substantive director, Dr Cainos Chingombe.
Chingombe was briefly reinstated in 2022 before passing away after a long battle with cancer.
Jabulani Duve is the current Acting Human Capital Director, replacing Bosman Matengarufu, who stepped down, citing a toxic work environment.
Matengarufu made headlines for surviving poisoning attempts while investigating council issues and has been a public speaker on financial challenges and other city matters.
Chamber Secretary
As of October 2025, the Acting Chamber Secretary for the Harare City Council is Advocate Warren Chiwawa.
The city has had no substantive chamber secretary since the exit of Mrs Josephine Ncube around 2018.
Charles Kandemiri then took over in an acting capacity.
Kandemiri was suspended in 2021 on criminal abuse of office charges before Warren Chiwawa took over, up to date.
Kandemiri was jailed for an effective six years in 2023 for criminal abuse of office involving selling the Mount Pleasant Golf Club and Golf Course.
