Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni has said that mayors and chairpersons of local authorities should not be chosen from elected officials. Manyenyeni argues that the roles require expertise which can only come from technocrats and advocated for a system where the dominant party in elections chooses the most capable person. Said Manyenyeni,
We have had two experiences, the current experience and the previous experience. The previous experience is what I would call the Much Masunda (Former Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda) experience where the dominant party had the latitude to find the most capable person to be mayor of the City of Harare.
The current scenario is where the mayors and chairpersons are coming from only from elected councillors. I think this aspect should be relaxed so that the communities through their parties are afforded the chance to get the best or the most deserving person from outside the elected councillors.
Manyenyeni has said that he will not be running for office in the coming 2018 harmonised elections.
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More: Herald