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Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
LOCAL Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo has described the death of Bulawayo’s first black town clerk, Dr Michael Mkanyiso Ndubiwa as a great loss to the country and Africa as a whole.

Dr Ndubiwa (86) died on Tuesday at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo where he had gone for his routine dialysis session.

He will be buried today at Lady Stanley cemetery.

Dr Ndubiwa became deputy town clerk of Bulawayo in 1979 and was promoted to town clerk in 1984 replacing Ian Edmeades.

He became the first black town clerk for Bulawayo and retired in 1999 after working for the council for 32 years.

In a statement, Minister Moyo said the late Dr Ndubiwa was his mentor.

“The Minister of Local Government Cde July Moyo was one of those mentored by him (Dr Ndubiwa) although working at the structure of our Governance System in the country at the highest level in Central Government.

“Many other serving and non-serving cadres in the Ministry and other Government entities worked with Dr Ndubiwa. We mourn this great loss and pass our heartfelt condolences to the Ndubiwa family, wife, children and grandchildren,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Dr Ndubiwa was instrumental in nurturing not only Zimbabweans but professionals from the region and the continent.

“Through his mentorship, he natured a wide range of local Government cadres in Zimbabwe and as a member of the Institute of Town Clerks of Southern Africa, his influence was felt in all the countries in Southern Africa.

“He extended his knowledge about Local Governance to other countries in Africa including West Africa through consultancies he undertook in helping those countries especially coming out of civil wars,” said Minister Moyo.

He said over the years, when the late Dr Ndubiwa ran the business of Bulawayo, the Ministry of Local Government realised that the city was a pacesetter in revenue collection, service delivery, well-maintained roads, sewer reticulation and refuse collection.

“When the Government championed the building of houses through brigades, Bulawayo, although resistant at first, became the leading light in how building brigades performed their duties. All this was due to sterling leadership that Dr Ndubiwa provided starting from the time he was deputy to Ian Edmeades.

“When he took over in September 1984, Bulawayo had just come out of its municipal elections held in August 1984, He was able to mould a team of councillors, that strived to keep Bulawayo as a number one local authority in Zimbabwe. This accolade of the leading light in local governance continued throughout his term of office until he retired in 1999,” said Minister Moyo.

He said Dr Ndubiwa was lucky to be working with men and women inspired by the liberation struggle who knew that serving the people needed sacrifices.

He said the Ministry and indeed the whole fraternity of local Government practitioners in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa and the continent had lost a luminary, manager, advisor, consultant and above all a disciplined cadre.

“He (Dr Ndubiwa) gave his all, not only to Local Government but institutions of higher learning such as Nust and leadership in many enterprises both public and private such as Air Zimbabwe. As a Ministry or Central Government that interacted with him at political and administrative level we knew that Dr Ndubiwa was not a pushover and if you earned his respect, you always worked well with him,” said Minister Moyo.

In a statement yesterday, BCC said Dr Ndubiwa’s burial service would be held at the Amphitheatre, Centenary Park at 8AM this morning ahead of burial at the Lady Stanley Cemetery.

“Kindly note that in line with Covid-19 protocols, only close family members and friends will be allowed into the cemetery,” read the statement.— Follow on Twitter @bonganinkunzi