BCM appoints new CFO despite Pillay’s fight for reinstatement

Pakati says show must go on as rival parties put their dissent on record

It’s official: Buffalo City Metro has a new chief financial officer.

Ntsikelelo Sigcau, who has been acting in the position since the axing of Vincent Pillay, will assume his new position on October 1, according to a “top secret” report adopted in council two weeks back.

The appointment comes despite the fact that Pillay is still appealing his sacking.

On Tuesday last week, Pillay told the Dispatch he had received communication about a date that had been set in October for the arbitration process to start at the South African Bargaining Council.

“We will start the process all over again and argue why my dismissal was unfair,” he said.

“There is no more court case against me as the Nelson Mandela funeral scandal case was withdrawn in court. I only have BCM to deal with now.” Pillay was fired earlier in 2018 after public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane published a damning report into the 2013 Nelson Mandela funeral scandal, which led to BCM launching an internal disciplinary hearing that found Pillay guilty of financial misconduct on two charges.

In a report tabled in council recently, city manager Andile Sihlahla said interviews for the position were held on August 8, and that Sigcau had met “the requirements and the required competencies for the post”.

During the closed council meeting, some ANC councillors questioned the appointment.

However, Sihlahla advised the council that there was nothing wrong with making the appointment despite Pillay’s ongoing appeal.

The DA and EFF recorded their dissent on the report.

DA councillor, Geoff Walton, said: “We only received the crucial report in council and not seven days before the meeting as we are supposed to.

“We could not apply our minds and scrutinise if he really was the right candidate for the job. That was our only gripe.

“Otherwise he is known to us and we trust that he will live up to the expectations.”

EFF caucus leader Mziyanda Hlekiso said: “We recorded our dissent as we don’t support this appointment at all. We can’t support it because Pillay is still appealing his dismissal.

“How do you replace someone when there is still a pending appeal taking place?

“We were supposed to wait until the matter was finalised.”

However, BCM mayor Xola Pakati defended the appointment when contacted by the Dispatch, saying there was no law stopping them from appointing Sigcau, even though Pillay was still fighting for his job. “Sigcau was number one in the interview process. There is nothing wrong with his appointment,” Pakati said.

“Pillay is also within his rights to appeal the dismissal but the municipality can’t stop working pending his appeal.

“We don’t work on ‘ifs’ – we work on reality and the reality was that in BCM there was no CFO.”