The Harare City Council (HCC) has finalised negotiations with its former town clerk, Hosiah Chisango, regarding his exit package following an acrimonious departure from the helm of the local authority.
The development was announced at a full council meeting held at Town House last Friday.
The former town clerk parted ways with the local authority last year after over three decades of service.
Chisango, who joined the council in 1991, rose through the ranks to become the city's top administrator, but his tenure as town clerk was marred by persistent corruption allegations.
He faced a litany of accusations regarding misconduct, financial mismanagement, and corruption.
He was previously arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) for allegedly unprocedurally awarding a US$9,2 million street lighting tender to a joint-venture company, Juluka Enndo, ahead of the Sadc summit.
The company had allegedly been blacklisted for previous failures to deliver on city contracts
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume also clashed with Chisango, accusing him of extending his own employment contract indefinitely without authorisation from the council.
An internal City of Harare investigation previously linked him to a land scandal involving the fraudulent allocation of 14 residential stands on land officially designated as open public space.
He also faced allegations of firing a subordinate to cover up investigations into illegal land deals.
However, while he was arrested and charged in connection with several of these procurement and abuse-of-duty offenses, a number of the criminal cases were later dismissed or withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority.
Announcing the latest development, Mafume said the processing of Chisango’s package “has started”.
Warren Chiwawa currently serves as the Harare City Council town clerk. Mafume, however, remained tight-lipped regarding the specific contents of the package.
“We have finished negotiations with Engineer Hosiah Chisango on his packages. Our human resources chairperson, George Mujajati, can confirm that,” he said.
Mujajati also declined to comment on the matter.
Chisango was once suspended, resulting in a massive public outcry and intense financial scrutiny as he continued to draw his full salary and perks — amounting to US$30 000 per month—while on indefinite leave.
This prolonged situation led to a bitter impasse between Mafume and the town clerk, with Chisango being physically barred from attending council meetings while the city continued to face inquiries into the Town House administration.
Meanwhile, Mafume also took time to pay tribute to the former opposition leader and human rights activist Linda Masarira, who died recently.
Mafume said was wrong to attack Masarira following her passing, adding that he was displeased with how female politicians are often targeted.
“My personal opinion is that we must be empathetic to the dead. When people die, if you have issues, it is good to solve those issues while they are still alive,” he said.
“I was Linda Masarira's lawyer and I took her out of jail. I used to buy her food while she was in prison for quite some time. She would sometimes insult me over the phone, but after a week, she would phone me asking for help”.
Masarira had been attacked in some opposition circles and civic society organisations, where she was labeled a "sell-out" and accused of leaking information to the ruling Zanu PF.