Mayor expects three things from new Manager
AFTER more than a year with the Acting Municipal Manager, Mrs Nelisiwe Ngcobo, at the helm Msunduzi finally appointed a City Manager in the first half of 2020. Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said amongst the things the new leadership prioritised when they arrived in Msunduzi in August was finding a resolution in the matter of the former City manager, Mr Sizwe Hadebe.
“We reached a point where we parted ways with Mr Hadebe and then commenced with the process of appointing the Municipal Manager because this is a critical position that shouldn’t be held by an acting incumbent for too long,” said Thebolla.
He said on February 26 Council took a decision to appoint Mr Madoda Khathide as the Municipal Manager.
“Mr Khathide accepted the offer that was put on the table by the Municipality.”
Mayor Thebolla said the lockdown dented some of the plans but they understand it was necessary to protect the lives of people. He said they wanted him to hit the ground running because they know him to be a man who moves with speed. He said Khathide previously served as a councillor and a member of the executive committee in Alfred Duma Municipality in Ladysmith where he was later appointed as the head of local economic deployment then a Municipal Manager. Khathide was the Municipal Manager at eDumbe when he was offered a job at Msunduzi.
Mayor Thebolla said while as the Municipal Manager at Dumbe Local
Municipality, Khathide achieved a clean audit for two conservative years, which makes him the most sought-after Municipal Manager in KwaZulu-Natal. “What also made us believe that he deserved this position is his experience as a manager in the only municipality in South Africa where there was no outright winner in the 2016 local government election. When the votes were counted both political parties got eight seats on the council.”
Thebolla said Khathide outperformed the competition because his track record showed that there was never a time under his leadership that eDumbe did not approve its budget or the integrated development plan.
“You can’t have a functional municipality under the conditions he worked under unless you have a Municipal Manager of a high calibre who can get different political parties to work towards the same goals. We are not undermining the work done by the Mayor of eDumbe but it is the responsibility of the accounting office to advise council, and this is what made Khathide a suitable candidate for us.”
On the three things that Thebolla expects Khathide to prioritise now that he is in Msunduzi, it is financial stability, waste management and reviving the work ethic of municipal employees.
In restoring financial stability Thebolla said Khathide must ensure that the debt owed to the Municipality is collected and put measures in place to curb the theft of water and electricity by those who cannot afford to pay and who must be registered as indigents. He said the City must also connect those who are currently not getting municipal services but can afford to pay so that the municipality can collect revenue.
With regards to waste management, Thebolla said: “We have a problem of fires erupting at the landfill site and one of the things that led to this is because it was not properly regulated and it was not managed the way it was supposed to. We want him to continue with the work that we’ve already started whereby we appointed a company to restore functionality in that facility.”
He said they also want Khathide to get the Municipality the assistance it needs to be able to collect waste, especially refuse, and also clean the City.
On the third priority on the work ethic of municipal employees, Thebolla said: “With his experience I have no doubt that he will be able to restore the work ethic of our workers so that they are motivated to get up every morning and come to work. Our employees must know that we can see what they are doing and we are pleased with their performance so that we can continue delivering the services to the people of Msunduzu whom we are here to serve.”