City managers in the spotlight

Meeting to view disciplinary regulations

DISCIPLINARY regulations for City senior managers will come under the spotlight when the council hosts a special meeting tomorrow.

The meeting, classified confidential, comes months after independent commissioner IR Change – Conflict to Co-operation investigated the grievances brought against director for policing and enforcement services Robbie Roberts.

It also recommended that executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman convene, as a matter of urgency, a meeting with the chiefs of the division to confirm lines of responsibility and map out processes.

The special confidential meeting tomorrow is to consider a report in terms of regulation 5 of the local government disciplinary regulations for senior managers.

City speaker Dirk Smit said they could not comment on the meeting at which all councillors were expected to attend.

“No comment will be issued on confidential (green) matters,” Smit said.

The independent commissioner hosted hearings after various complaints surfaced against Roberts, alleging he constantly bypassed and undermined lines of management.

One of the incidents related to a spate of protest actions along the N2 in March this year when Roberts instructed deputy metro police chief Annalene Marais to use a City water cannon to put out fires.

Marais refused as Roberts had no operational control over her. She was of the opinion that using the City water cannon was for crowd control measures, and not putting out fires.

Roberts then laid a criminal charge against Marais at the Brackenfell police station for defeating the ends of justice.

In the IR Change report, which the Cape Times has seen, Marais and several others cited numerous examples where Roberts has, and continues to bypass line management to instruct staff, including Metro police, schools resource officers and the metal theft unit staff.

Roberts admitted in the report that he was: “So angry and frustrated and I need to make a point,” when he opened the case against Marais.

The commissioner said: “It was in my view utterly unacceptable for one employee of the City to initiate criminal proceedings against a colleague arising out of a difference of opinion about an operational issue within the course and scope of their employment.”

Xolani Sotashe, ANC councillor and leader of the opposition in the City, filed an affidavit at the Cape Town Central police station yesterday, and said he opened a case against Roberts for defeating the ends of justice.

Roberts refused to comment.