Claims not true, says manager

A SENIOR ethekwini Municipality manager who was placed on suspension has denied involvement in an investigation linked to alleged tender kickbacks.

Nathi Nkwanyana, in his complaint to the press ombudsman, said the allegations were false and damaging to his reputation.

Sources in the municipality said Nkwanyana had been placed on suspension pending an investigation.

However, Nkwanyana said this was untrue.

When the allegations were put to him three weeks ago, he said he could not comment as he was not allowed to speak to the media and referred queries to Maxwell Mthembu, the acting head of electricity.

Mthembu said he was not a spokesperson for the municipality and was not allowed to discuss human resourcesrelated matters with the media.

Nkwanyana also said he was not the head of revenue protection services, as reported by the Sunday Tribune, but a senior manager in the department. He said linking him to the troubled Revenue Management System (RMS) responsible for billing issues had tarnished his image.

The error is regretted. Municipal spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said: “The city does not discuss disciplinary matters in the media. Due processes in relation to the Labour Relations Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act are applied to all disciplinary matters.

“The municipality has appointed a financial disciplinary board to provide oversight on all disciplinary matters that have a financial impact.

“The integrity and investigations unit answers to the public accounts committee on all disciplinary cases.”