Gweru’s new acting town clerk Livingstone Churu got involved in a road accident at the weekend and wrecked a council vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, a day after his appointment. The accident happened in Norton, along the Gweru-Harare Highway.

Churu was appointed acting town clerk after the underfire Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe was arrested last week on criminal abuse of office charges.

In a letter written on Monday, mayor Hamutendi Kombayi confirmed that Chikwekwe was asked not to report for duty because of the charges that are before the courts.

Kombayi also elevated city planning assistant director Tapiwa Marerwa to the post of acting chamber secretary.

 “May you kindly handover to Churu and Marerwa who shall be acting as acting clerk and chamber secretary respectively,” Kombayi wrote.

He said a special council meeting would be convened to make a resolution on the appointments.

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Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) director Conilia Selipiwe said: “For the first time ever, His Worship Kombayi was spot-on in terms of making the temporary appointments because there was work that needed to be done. I am, however, not aware of the appointment of the new secretary. My worry as a person who has internal information about the organisation is that I am not seeing a person suitable to act as a chamber secretary because it has to be someone with a law background or who has a legal mind. Naturally what could have happened is that the human resources manager could act as chamber secretary, but we don’t have a substantive human resources manager. We have a crisis in the making but I hope whatever is going to happen will be for the good of the city.”

Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association director David Chikore expressed optimism that councillors would endorse the appointments.