Jonkers resignation background
KNYSNA – It's been two weeks since former acting municipal manager Johannes Jonkers resigned from his position in Knysna Municipality.
His resignation came amidst much turmoil surrounding eight appointments within the municipality. In a letter* written by Jonkers to Michele Botha of the PA, who was appointed as chief of staff in Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa's office from 3 October, questions are raised about the legality of her appointment.
Jonkers said in the letter he had "carefully considered" her appointment and received the necessary legal advice. "Following careful consideration I hereby regrettably inform you that the process culminating in your appointment was irregular and unlawful on a number of bases, including, but not limited to, the failure to comply with the relevant provisions of the Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Staff Regulations and the municipality's human-resources related policies," he wrote.
"Please be advised that given the unlawfulness of the process followed relating to your appointment, until a court of competent jurisdiction decides otherwise, it will be legally impermissible for the municipality to remunerate you for the period that you have tendered your services, being 3 October to date [17 October]. Any payment for such services would constitute irregular expenditure in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act."
When asked by KPH about the letters sent out to the political appointees, Jonkers replied that the communication between him and staff is confidential. Asked whether he now wanted to provide reasons for his resignation (Tsengwa previously said he had offered no reasons), Jonkers said, "The resignation was for personal reasons and meeting my own value system. When MMs resign it is for various reasons. I do not like to escalate any perceived adversarial relationships and therefore wish to state clearly and categorically that any further investigations need to be allowed to follow due process and that I cannot be implicated in any wrongdoing purely because I chose to vacate the acting MM position. I ask that you and the readers will respect the request and I can promise the readers and ratepayers that I acted in the best interests of all in taking decisions."