Moerane appeals court ruling

BUFFALO City Metro employee Neo Moerane is appealing a recent Grahamstown High Court ruling by Judge Murray Lowe who dismissed her bid to heed a February 2016 council resolution appointing her as head of the municipal services directorate.

Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch earlier this week, Moerane confirmed that she was appealing at the Supreme Court. She said the matter was being handled by her lawyers, as well as those of the metro.

“They have been given an instruction to choose two days between March 5 and 12 for the appeal. We are just waiting for the metro lawyers to say when they are available. My lawyers are ready.”

Asked why she was appealing the decision by the Grahamstown High Court, Moerane said she was within her rights to do so.

“It is the right of any worker to appeal.”

Her appointment was overturned by cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa, who found that Moerane’s appointment and other HoD appointment processes were flawed.

Her bid was dismissed, with BCM’s legal costs to be paid by her on December 5. The metro’s counter application to review and set aside the council resolution also succeeded.

Moerane, who is the former MEC for social development, is currently working in BCM’s enterprise project management office, which falls under the office of city manager Andile Sihlahla.

The Dispatch reported in December Judge Lowe had ruled the resolution was null and void for two reasons:

● Moerane had failed a competency test; and

● The composition of the selection panel itself was also irregular.

It had not met the regulatory requirement that there be at least one person who was not a BCM councillor or staff member on the panel.

Sihlahla told the council in a recent meeting about Moerane’s decision to appeal the High Court ruling: “It must be mentioned at this juncture that Ms Moerane is appealing the decision and as such the costs due to council cannot be collected from Moerane pending the outcome of the appeal. The appeal by Ms Moerane is being opposed.”

These comments were made by Sihlahla in a “top secret” report circulated to councillors recently and seen by the Saturday Dispatch. He described the appeal as a “challenge” and said opposing the appeal entailed further financial expenditure on litigation. “The amount of the expenditure cannot be quantified as this stage,” Sihlahla said.

The court battle between the metro and Moerane has reportedly caused a delay in the filling of the vacant and a crucial HoD post in the troubled municipal services department.

BCM mayor Xola Pakati declined to comment saying the matter was “sub judice”. —