New Zim minister urged to probe arts council appointment

Moyo took over from Elvas Mari, who resigned in April under unclear circumstances, on 1 August. Nhimbe Trust condemned the process and nature of the appointment.

“On 16 May 2018, Moyo who was in the secretariat, was introduced as acting director at the launch of the UNESCO Global Report without any evidence of due process. We publicly queried the apparent irregular appointment and reiterated the need for a transparent and regular process of filling the vacancy.

“We were thus surprised by the council’s press release of 1 August announcing the appointment of the same Nicholas Moyo as director with effect from 1 August claiming that this was ‘after completion of due process in terms of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31] NACZ Act [Chapter 25:07]’.

“We are concerned by the improper tradition that has been set of simply elevating officials at the NACZ without regard to sound human resources practices of seeking the best qualified for the job. The attitude of a broad range of creative civil society, which we belong to holds the view that the staff complement of the council does not possess the ideal skills and competences required by the director’s post.”

To rectify the problem, the non-governmental advocacy organisation asked for the new minister to address the situation.

“We eagerly anticipate Kirsty Coventry’s urgent attention to our concern with the surreptitious and irregular filling of the vacancy of NACZ director,” reads an official statement from Nhimbe Trust. “On 20 April 2018, we raised a concern about the delay in filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Elvas Mari as the director and urged the council to be open and transparent about the appointment of an acting director.

“Our expectation as stakeholders is that the minister and the council, fully seize the opportunity presented of a new dispensation to embrace tenets of good corporate governance through the recruitment of a new director in a new way. This will allow the council to attune to focus on strategy and value creation which would shed the present image of the council of seeming inexperience, complacency, inefficiency and ineffectiveness.”

Coventry, whose appointment has been welcomed by stakeholders, was tasked by Nhimbe Trust to publicly declare "the process by which the vacancy of [NACZ] director was filled and if it was not filled according to law, the steps she will take to revoke the appointment and commence proper proceedings”.