KSD mayor accused of meddling in appointment of municipal boss

Nelani said to have overstepped the mark and meddled inthe process to appoint a new municipal manager

A UDM councillor in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality has accused mayor Nyaniso Nelani of overstepping the mark and meddling in the process to appoint a new municipal manager.

Bongani Ndlobongela, through his lawyers Mbulelo Qotoyi Attorneys, wants Nelani to rescind a resolution taken to reappoint Ngamela Pakade as administration boss.

Pakade, who was first appointed to the position in 2018, was reportedly appointed again after his contract ended earlier this year. His reappointment was announced at a council meeting on September 6.

The letter , seen by Dispatch, was sent to Nelani and council speaker Nomamfengu Siyo-Sokuthu by his lawyers on Monday.

In it, Ndlobongela, acting in his personal capacity, accused Nelani of having submitted an incomplete report recommending that Pakade be appointed as municipal manager.

“Clients further advised that you did not follow the procedures and regulations in terms of the Municipal Systems Act in that you usurped powers of the council and appointed a panel to interview candidates for the post. You recommended the appointment of a candidate without supporting documents like scorecards and his claim of a master’s degree certificate,” the letter stated.

Ndlobongela’s lawyers also argued that Pakade had a cloud hanging over his head as he had been implicated in a fraud case, while still serving as municipal manager in Mnquma municipality.

The Dispatch reported earlier this year that the case had been struck off the roll by the Mthatha specialised commercial crimes court.

He had been charged with contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act relating to a R18m roads tender project dating back to 2011. According to the Hawks, the municipality had budgeted R18m but the expenditure had ballooned to R36m.

When approached by the Dispatch on Thursday, Ndlobongela questioned why neither of the other two candidates vying for the position of municipal manager had been considered.

He said the fact that Pakade’s case had been struck off the court roll did not necessarily mean he was off the hook yet.

He confirmed that instead of endorsing the appointment, the UDM had simply staged a march out of the council chambers on the day Pakade’s reappointment was announced.

He said council had mandated Nelani to kick-start the process of filling the vacancy after Pakade’s contract lapsed by setting up a panel to conduct interviews.

Instead of providing council with the names, Nelani had overstepped his own powers by failing to provide council with the names and instead allowed them to conduct interviews without the blessing of the highest decision-making structure in municipalities, which was responsible for overseeing and endorsing the appointment of senior managers.

“We were never shown the scorecards or even his qualifications. He [Nelani] just told us they were in his office and were available on request. Those documents should have formed part of the report he presented to council,” Ndlobongela said, adding that he had approached the lawyers personally and not on behalf of his party.

His lawyers described the appointment as unlawful and demanded that Nelani rescind the resolution to reappoint Pakade and withdraw his appointment with immediate effect. They also demanded that the entire recruitment for a new municipal manager be started from scratch with Nelani given until close of business on Tuesday to ensure that this was done.

Asked if Nelani had acceded to his lawyers’ demands, Ndlobongela on Thursday said he was still awaiting a report from them.

But Nelani’s mayoral spokesperson, Olwethu Mabovula, dismissed Ndlobongela’s claims, saying it was not possible for him to meddle in the process as the local government sector was guided by processes of recruitment, policies and regulations.

“In this case the executive mayor followed all processes,” she said.

She said out of the eight applications received, six had been shortlisted including Pakade. All had to go for further screening.

She said anyone who wanted to view their scorecards could make an application to Nelani’s office as they were confidential.

On Pakade’s fraud case, she said the charge had been changed to contravention of the MFMA and, subsequently, it was struck off the roll.

The municipality had already sent a letter of concurrence to the Cogta MEC Zolile Williams to endorse Pakade’s appointment.