Ex-city mayor rejects reports of deployment
THE FORMER Sol Plaatje Executive Mayor, Patrick Lenyibi, who also faces a court battle this year over his alleged involvement in the purchase of dodgy Wataka water purifiers for Ritchie, has denied reports that he was almost deployed to the Thembelihle Local Municipality as its acting manager.
The recently re-elected Thembelihle mayor, Danny Jonas, said last week the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) contacted him, informing him that Lenyibi would be deployed to that municipality as the acting municipal manager.
Jonas said that he refused to take Lenyibi on board.
“I said, ‘no thank you. We are fine without him (Lenyibi)’,” Jonas said.
However, Lenyibi, who is employed at Coghsta, said that this was not true.
Returning from leave yesterday, Lenyibi said that if plans were in place to redeploy him, he would have been the first to know.
“This is news to me,” Lenybi said.
Coghsta had said earlier that the Thembelihle Local Municipality was one of three councils in the Province that would receive administrative assistance from the department.
Lenyibi’s co-accused and for- mer Sol Plaatje municipal manager, Frank Mashilo, has been redeployed to the Renosterberg Municipality as acting municipal manager.
At the time of Mashilo’s redeployment, the department said that three municipalities had asked Coghsta for intervention, as per government regulations.
But Jonas claims Thembelihle did not ask for assistance, despite difficulties in the municipality.
“It has been difficult. All our managers are in acting positions at the moment.
“Our last council meeting for 2011 was on December 19 and we have had three this year already,” Jonas said.
Finances
He added that much work needed to be done to turn around the finances at that embattled municipality.
After Jonas’ re-election as the mayor on an independent ticket, 72 ANC members from Jonas’ former branch were expelled from the party for supporting him in the December 7 by-election.
The dismissed members said that they were planning to take the matter to the Northern Cape High Court to have their expulsion’s overturned.
Jonas also said that he feared Lenyibi’s redeployment was part of a political plan to sway council decisions in the ANC’S favour.
Currently, a Da-cope coali- tion, led by Jonas as an independent, has a majority in the municipal council over the ANC.
Coghsta had not responded to questions at the time of going to print late yesterday.