PuBLIC E:-~TJTIES CoRPORATE GovERNANCE No. 4/2018 Cap. l0:31 ensuring that the selection is made primarily on merit while ensuring that, so far as practicable, men and women and all Zimbabwe's regions are fairly represented in the entity's management. (4) The board of every public entity shall ensure that the post of chief executive officer of the entity is never left vacant for more than six months and that, in the eve\1t of a vacancy of more than one month-(a) the entity's deputy chief executive officer, if there is one, is appointed to act as chief executive officer; or (b) if there is no deputy chief executive officer, a member of the entity's staff or a board member is appointed to act as chief executive officer; pending the appointment of a substantive chief executive officer. (5) As soon as possible after being appointed or re-appointed a chief executive officer must comply with section 37, requiring certain disclosures for the purpose of avoiding contlids of interest. 18 Appointment of senior staff of public entities ( 1) When appointing senior staff members. other than a chief executive officer, the board of every public entity shall ensure that, so far as practicable, men and women and all Zimbabwe's regions are fairly repres{mted in the entity's management, but all such appointments shall be made primarily on the basis of merit. (2) Where the board of a public entity appoints a senior staff member, it shall cause written notice of the appointment to be sent to the line Minister >Vithout delay, specifying(a) the name, address and such other personal particulars of the appointee as the Unit may require in tenns of subsection (4); and (b) (c) (d) the appointee's qualifications; and the criteria on which the appointee was chosen for appointment; and whether the appointee has complied with section 37, requiring cet1ain disclosures for the purpose of avoiding conflicts of interest. and without delay shall send the line Minister a copy of the appointee's contract of employment with the entity. (3) The head of the line Ministry shall promptly despatch to the Unit the pm1iculars furnished by the board to the line Minister under subsection (2), including a copy of the appointee's contmct of employment with the entity. (4) The Office of the President and Cabinet ma.y circulate to heads of line Ministries, the additional personal patticulars required for the puqx.1ses of subsection (2)(a). (5) Subject to subsection (6), this section does not derogate from any statutory power conferred on a line Minister to give policy directions to a board of a public entity. (6) If any action taken by a line ~·finister pursuant to a power referred to in subsection (5) has the effect of overriding a board's judgment as to the fitness of any person to be employed by the entity for which it is responsible, and the head of the Unit considers that such action is contmry to any principle of good corporate governance embodied in the First and Second Schedules, the head of the Unit shall express his or her opinion to that effect in writing to the Minister responsible for this Act, \Vho shall, if he or she thinks that the opinion has merit, seek the leave of the President to refer the matter to the Cabinet. 90