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Gweru City Council House

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
GWERU City Council has finally acquired a house for its town clerk Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza more than a year after she was appointed to the top post, quashing a resolution for her to occupy the mayoral mansion.

Since her appointment in December 2016, Ms Gwatipedza has been commuting to Gweru from Redcliff, nearly 50 kilometres away, daily due to council’s inability to find suitable accommodation for her. Before her appointment to the top post in Gweru, Ms Gwatipedza was Redcliff Town secretary.

In an interview, Gweru mayor councillor Charles Chikozho said Ms Gwatipedza would finally move into a council house before the end of March.

He said it was the local authority’s obligation to offer Ms Gwatipedza decent accommodation as part of her package.

The mayor declined to state the amount of money spent on the town clerk’s property.

“I am glad to note that council has finally secured a house for our town clerk Ms Gwatipedza and she is going to move in before the end of March. Council is obliged to source accommodation for her and that is what we have done and soon she will move in,” he said.

The MDC-T led council allegedly ignored a resolution for Ms Gwatipedza to occupy the 20-roomed mayoral mansion.

It resolved to turn the mansion into a guest lodge.

Clr Chikozho said council was sticking to its 2015 resolution to convert the mayoral mansion into a lodge to boost revenues.

“There were two resolutions with regard to the mayoral mansion, one being to turn it into a guest lodge and the other to allocate it to the town clerk. However, we are sticking with the resolution to turn the mayor’s house into a guest lodge to boost council revenue. Like I said we have sorted accommodation for the town clerk elsewhere,” he said.