Tsholotsho confusion continues
AS confusion continues to reign supreme within the Tsholotsho Rural District Council, councillors on Monday last week rescinded an earlier resolution to fire its executive officer-incharge of Natural Resources.
The councillors resolved to rescind their decision to fire Mr Simelisizwe Sibanda, the executive officer-in-charge of Natural Resources, which they had passed a couple of weeks ago after noting that the resolution was both illegal and unimplementable.
However, Mr Sibanda remains out of office after it emerged that his suspension by the acting chief executive officer, Mr Nkululeko Sibanda still holds ground as the primary employer. The RDC’s chairperson, Councillor Esau Siwela, confirmed that councillors had unanimously agreed to throw out the expulsion, revealing that councillors were too emotional and misguided when they passed the original resolution.
“Yes, councillors resolved to rescind their decision to fire Mr Simelisizwe Sibanda. I guess they realised that when they made the initial resolution, they were too emotional not taking into consideration that they were endorsing an illegality.
“Now what has to happen is for them to see the merits of the case then decide on a way forward but if there is a real case then they must be guided by the Labour Act, which stipulates that the employee will be made known of the charges made against him and given 14 days to respond,” said Clr Siwela.
The council chairperson said in future, councillors will get guidance from the local authority’s legal counsel instead of rushing to make uninformed decisions which would haunt them in future. Questioned on the move by the acting CEO not to lift the suspension of Mr Simelisizwe Sibanda as guided by the councillors’ decision to rescind their earlier resolution, Clr Siwela said it was now up to the acting CEO to justify his decision.
“I understand that the acting CEO could have had his own reasons to suspend the executive officer-in-charge of Natural Resources which we are not privy to and of which he is yet to inform us as councillors. We will continue on our own in terms of conducting the necessary investigations, the acting CEO might have his own reasons to suspend the executive officerin-charge of Natural Resources but we have started our own steps as guided by the law,” the council chairperson said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, the RDC’s councillors during the same meeting claimed they were not aware of any court proceedings against their acting CEO and instead went ahead with forwarding his name as part of the shortlist of three sent to the Local Government Board for final consideration.
The acting CEO, Mr Nkululeko Sibanda is on a $400 bail on graft charges where he is alleged to have prejudiced Tsholotsho RDC, US$4 179 900 in a hunting concession tender deal. He is alleged to have reduced the original bidding price in the final contract awarded to Matupula Hunters. He is also said to have altered a number of the terms of the final contract awarded to the hunting entity. The shortlist comprises the acting CEO, Mr Minutewell Ncube and Dr Pios Ncube.
The council chairperson confirmed the latest development noting that he had personally tried to bring the issue to the attention of
councillors but they had all said council was not aware of the court case.
“It is unfortunate that I have been away from office due to bereavement hence this was my first full council meeting after I laid to rest my son, so when the matter was brought up for discussion, I indicated that one of the three had a recent pending court case of which all the councillors claimed they were not aware of such.
“I particularly asked the human resources committee chairperson, Clr Pios Ncube who reaffirmed that as council they were not aware of any such matter, maybe they meant they have not been informed officially but this is something that is already in the public domain. Therefore, with the stance taken by the councillors the three names have been sent to Government without any changes of guiding notes,” said the council chairperson.
Tsholotsho RDC has been operating without a substantive CEO since it parted ways with Mr Themba Moyo early this year.