Another day of council chaos

Death threats, heated exchanges and city boss suspended in ...

In a day of high drama, where it emerged that two Patriotic Alliance councillors had received death threats warning them against supporting a move to oust mayor Gary van Niekerk, the Nelson Mandela Bay council placed city boss Noxolo Nqwazi on precautionary suspension yet again.

In a report by Van Niekerk to the council yesterday, he proposed that Mandla George, who had previously served as the city’s chief operations officer until 2021, should assume the role of acting city manager.

But concerns by several parties over George’s return to the city saw pages ripped out of the confidential report in a heated debate behind closed doors.

It is understood the ANC was also divided on the matter.

The municipality will now seek advice from the Eastern Cape co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) department on a replacement for Nqwazi as George is currently employed by the Competition Commission.

While this is ironed out by Cogta, electricity and energy boss Luvuyo Magalela will act as city manager.

The decisions were taken behind closed doors at a meeting that lasted several hours at the Feather Market Centre.

During the open session, an administrative error resulted in a second attempt to oust Van Niekerk through a no-confidence motion having to be deferred to the next council meeting.

The motion was not signed and did not include a date.

The GOOD party’s motion was filed last month.

In the motion, GOOD councillor Lawrence Troon lambasted Van Niekerk for service delivery failings under his leadership, saying his tenure had been characterised by incompetence.

As councillors geared up to debate the motion, it emerged that two Patriotic Alliance councillors — Shuling Lindoor and Bradley Murray — had received threatening messages from an unknown number a day before the meeting, warning them against supporting the motion to oust the mayor.

Messages to Lindoor read: “MMC Shulling U nd Murray make sure don’t vote against mayor. u already on our hit list. uitenhage rd n buffelsfontyn rd 2bullets2cllr finalwarn [SIC].”

She received another message yesterday telling her that Murray must answer his phone.

That message reads: “Support Mayor 2bullet2mmc. tell him to answer my call murray [SIC].”

The cellphone number from which the messages were sent was switched off last night.

Lindoor, when contacted, said she had received the first two messages at 10pm on Wednesday.

“I was shaken but not moved.

“I am now fearing for my safety because I work for the community.”

Murray said the messages were confusing as the party had publicly announced their support for Van Niekerk.

“I have changed the routes I am driving.

“I just want to protect my

family as well.” The police are investigating cases of intimidation, police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge confirmed.

A letter was sent to speaker Eugene Johnson detailing the threats. She, however, said she would only be able to confirm receipt today.

Meanwhile, as councillors debated Nqwazi’s fate, ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom and AIM councillor Khusta Jack left the chambers, saying the coalition was hell-bent on getting rid of her.

At the same time, councillors spotted a person walking in the upstairs public gallery, prompting them to shout for the person’s immediate removal.

Nqwazi is accused of contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act, Municipal Systems Act and the code of conduct for staff.

She had previously been placed on precautionary suspension during an emergency council meeting on October 20.

However, she returned to work last month as no disciplinary hearing had been initiated within three months of the suspension.

Yesterday’s decision to put her back on precautionary suspension was based on the same allegations levelled against her in October.

Nqwazi has challenged her initial suspension in court.

She is accused of, among other things, failing to take adequate measures to prevent irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure when the city reached a settlement agreement with former economic development executive director Anele Qaba.

He was later appointed chief executive of the Mandela Bay Development Agency.

The council, though, had approved a R3m golden handshake for Qaba earlier last year.

The vote saw 62 councillors in favour of her precautionary suspension with 52 against it.

Several other councillors in the 120-member council left the meeting, while another was sick.

According to insiders, Grootboom cautioned those supporting Nqwazi’s suspension that it would bring financial consequences.

He said it would cause fruitless and wasteful expenditure if the suspension went ahead.

DA councillor Nicholas Nyathi echoed Grootboom’s concerns, urging the council to avoid making unlawful decisions that could result in legal repercussions once Nqwazi’s case was heard in court.

Troon questioned the coalition government’s protection of Van Niekerk.

Troon said Nqwazi was bearing the brunt of Van Niekerk’s alleged wrongdoing.

In Van Niekerk’s report on Nqwazi, he wrote that he considered her written response and recommended that she be placed on precautionary suspension.

Van Niekerk also recommended that Nqwazi be referred to the municipality’s disciplinary board for further investigation.

In her response, she labelled the latest attempt as unlawful, unconstitutional and irrational.

Van Niekerk said: “If she is not suspended with immediate effect, vital information and documents could disappear thereby tampering with the available evidence.

“The city manager is already going through the trial proceedings on a spate of allegations of financial misconduct, which makes it virtually impossible for her to focus on her responsibilities as an accounting officer.”

Nqwazi faces a charge of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act with a toilet tender that led to her arrest in September 2022.

Van Niekerk said Nqwazi had brought the reputation of the municipality into disrepute by creating political and administrative instability.

“The council is aware that the city manager is facing a disciplinary process and has been criminally charged on allegations of fraud and corruption by the NPA.

“Both processes are independent processes that must be allowed to conclude without any interference.

“This situation has left a serious administrative vacuum in the municipality.

“Given the importance of this position, it is critical that council considers appointing someone that can have a meaningful impact in reorganising the administration to meet its service delivery and governance obligations.”

Van Niekerk said there was a need to second someone to consolidate the administrative leadership of the metro.

According to Section 27(1) of the Municipal Systems Act, municipalities have the authority to seek assistance from the national or provincial government, other municipalities, or relevant state entities to temporarily fill a vacant position with a person possessing the necessary skills and qualifications.

This can last for a specified duration or until a permanent candidate is appointed.

However, the municipality is obligated to notify the co-operative governance MEC regarding any such secondment, detailing the terms and conditions of the arrangement.