Appointment tiff in council

The Democratic Alliance and the ANC in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality in Limpopo are at each other’s throats over the alleged irregular appointment of a manager in the mayor’s office.

The DA has written to the MEC for cooperative governance, Jerry Ndou, requesting a probe.

The official, Khali Maphoso, was allegedly appointed without having the relevant qualifications and experience.

In an interview at his family home in Tooseng village outside Lebowakgomo recently, Limpopo premier and ANC provincial chairperson Stanley Mathabatha said 183 fraud and corruption cases were opened against officials from municipalities and provincial departments when he took over the administration in 2012.

He said cadre deployment, which involves appointing ANC cadres to critical positions without relevant qualifications, was one of the problems in Limpopo.

The DA said yesterday: “Maphoso was appointed to this critical position in November 2016, despite only having a secondary teacher’s diploma and no managerial experience.”

The party claimed Maphoso was short-listed with four other candidates, two with masters degrees in public administration, as per the requirements of the advertisement. They were apparently overlooked in favour of Maphosa, simply because they did not have the necessary political connections, according to DA councillor Fani Tsela.

He said the advertisement required the candidate have a bachelor’s degree or national diploma in public administration, or an equivalent qualification with over five years’ experience, of which Maphoso has none.

“His appointment is a classic example of cadre deployment and is a reward for being loyal to the senior politicians in the municipality.

“It is no secret that the ANC utilises its cadre deployment policy to reward its comrades, cronies and family members,” he added.

Tsela said the DA believed service delivery at a municipal level required qualified and experienced staff to avoid any financial mismanagement, tender irregularities and corruption.

“We therefore urge MEC Ndou to take all the necessary steps to immediately end the unfair practice of using political affiliation as a basis to appoint or reject job applicants.”

The municipality called Tsela’s claims baseless. Council speaker Burrel Ntsoane said: “Maphoso has been in the same position for the past five years.

“He was also a mayor for the Greater Zebediela transitional local council before. That speaks a lot about his experience. He has a teacher’s diploma and a public administration certificate.”

Attempts to get comment from Maphoso were not successful.