A potential revolt is looming within the City of Harare following allegations of nepotism, with senior management accused of employing their “people” at the expense of internal workers.
The workers, especially from the department of the Community Services department.are angry that the council advertised an internal job that was allegedly meant to be filled by their employees.
Some claim that, rather than at least shortlisting the internal candidates, nothing meaningful was done.
This situation has enraged the workers, who have approached both the Human Resources (HR) department and the office of Mayor Mafume.
The workers have also written a letter outlining their concerns to the Councillor Mujajati and Dube from the Human Capital
They said they applied after completing their degrees and master’s degrees. According to their complaint, the Mayor endorsed them to apply, but no one was even called up from the social department.
The interviews were conducted on Tuesday. The petition claims there was no effort to interview applicants from the relevant departments.
Petition (Rewritten for clarity)
“Request to Review External Advertisement of Chief Community Service Officer (C.S.O) (1) and Request for an Inclusive Interview Process (D.H.C.S.)”
“We note with concern the decision to externalise the vacant C.S.O position. Within this division, there are employees who hold social science degrees and master’s qualifications directly relevant to this role.
“These are the same qualifications the Council, through the Mayor, has encouraged staff to pursue.
“Externalising the post while overlooking internal talent contradicts that encouragement and demoralises staff who invested in higher education in order to serve the Council better.
“It also reinforces the perception that merit is secondary to affiliation.
“Our plea is simple: suspend the external process and first assess internal candidates.
“Let qualifications, experience, and performance records determine the outcome.
“This is fairness. This is justice.
“If some staff were already acting in these C.S.O roles, and others have submitted CVs with the right qualifications, then everyone who meets the criteria deserves an interview.
“Acting demonstrates that someone can do the work.
“A degree provides the foundation. Interviewing all qualified applicants is the bare minimum for fairness.
“Others were acting in these positions, and we believe this is an opportunity for all who submitted their CVs to be considered in the interview process.
“The interviews are being held tomorrow, 21 April (Tuesday).
“We hope the process will be stopped with immediate effect. We also intend to escalate this matter further.
“We request that you consider our matter as a state of emergency.
“Yours,
“Aggrieved Workers.”
Another worker said some of the positions were filled with people who were allegedly unqualified, with different degrees or master’s qualifications.
They claimed that the Sports and Arts Department is headed by someone with an education qualification. They also stated that another department (General) is headed by someone with a qualification in Sociology.
They added: “Vakumirira kuti hama dzavo dzipedze chikoro kuti vapinzwe basa.”
Another worker said:
“Why did they change the advert? This job was not mentioned for social workers. If that is the case, then the manager should produce social work degrees.”
“They changed it from what was originally advertised. The advert mentioned Community Service Officer, not social worker, so anyone with the qualifications should be able to apply,” the worker said.
The workers said they are being treated unfairly. They claimed that after completing their master’s degrees and other qualifications, they were not even shortlisted.
“There is a lot of nepotism. We are tired of the so-called A team. We want this nonsense to stop. We are deeply hurt,” one worker said.
“They brought one Matavire, her subordinate Matsenga, into the interview, and they also brought Chitsika because her husband is an accountant at Rowan Martin, yet they recently joined our division,” another worker claimed.
“We are pleading with our manager, Mrs Muchenato, to consider us,” a worker said.
