BCM to finally get new municipal manager
Mxolisi Yawa given security clearance and appointed a year after departure of Sihlahla
The Buffalo City Metro will finally have a permanent boss after almost a year since the departure of Andile Sihlahla.
The municipality delayed the appointment until it had agreed terms with Senqu municipality municipal manager Mxolisi Yawa to take over, late last year.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati told a closed session of the council meeting on Tuesday that Yawa would start work on February 13.
His tenure as city boss was supposed to start on January 1 but it was delayed after it emerged the city had not completed all its processes before making the appointment.
Last month, Yawa told the Daily Dispatch there had been a delay because of unresolved issues.
“I have not signed .... They [said] the appointment was conditional. I said ‘deal with conditions first’,” he said at the time.
He could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Insiders who attended the meeting said Pakati had a report which showed that Yawa had been cleared by the State Security Agency.
The Dispatch has seen a copy of the clearance report, dated January 2023.
“Enquiries were made from various sources including databases and court documents, the findings pertaining to the candidate are as follows: The candidate is confirmed to be a South African citizen.
“The following candidate has been found not to have pending cases as all the cases for which he was charged were set aside.
“The municipality is urged to advise the candidate that his criminal records still show him as having pending cases.
“He must then be advised to contact the SA Police Service to correct the records.
“The credit records did not indicate any negative security information about the candidate,” reads the report.
His appointment in December caused controversy as opposition parties, including the EFF linked him to a conviction in 2017 where he was found guilty of fraud.
The conviction was later overturned by the high court in Makhanda.
The DA, on the other hand, opposed the appointment on the basis that at the time the security clearance had not been completed.
Party chief whip Anathi Majeke, who was at the forefront opposing the appointment without the clearance, said they were glad Yawa had been cleared by the SSA.
“We welcome the security clearance and the update from the mayor with regards to the new city manager,” Majeke said.
“We hope this will bring stability to the city as we have had acting managers since May 2022.”
Pakati confirmed that Yawa’s starting date would be February 13 but would not discuss the delay.
“There are no issues as far as I am concerned,” Pakati said.
He said Yawa’s contract was for five years.
He will call a press briefing on the day he starts, to give details of what they expect from him.
Pheello Oliphant, spokesperson for co-operative governance & traditional affairs MEC Zolile Williams said they had not yet received the letter seeking concurrence for the appointment
He said though he had not seen the letter requesting concurrence, he knew Yawa had already resigned because Senqu municipality has declared his position vacant.
The EFF in the city, however, said they were still not happy with the ANC and the way it had gone about making the appointment.
Its leader, Mziyanda Hlekiso said: “We are against [the appointment] because no-one can be appointed without screening.
“That guy was not screened so it’s illegal what they have done.
“You can’t appoint someone, then after appointing him then you decide to take him for screening.
“He was supposed to be screened before he was appointed so that in the report that comes to the council, it comes with everything.
“So we are not fine at all with the move that the ANC made in Buffalo City.”