The fate of City of Tshwane senior managers appointed during the DA’s tenure hangs in the balance, with the regional ANC threatening to push for their dismissal if their appointments are found to be irregular.

This comes in the light of a letter from Gauteng MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, to Mayor Nasiphi Moya questioning the integrity of the appointment process for Section 56 managers.

ANC regional secretary George Matjila said the appointments of City Manager Johann Mettler and several senior managers are under scrutiny, with concerns raised over potential irregularities in the composition of their interview panels.

The ANC is part of a multiparty coalition government in Tshwane, alongside the EFF, ActionSA, and other parties.

Former DA mayor in Tshwane, Cilliers Brink, this week issued a media statement, implying that the coalition government was set to target professional senior managers to make way for their loyalists.

He said: “It was just a matter of time before the ANC coalition in the Tshwane Metro moved against professional senior managers in the municipal administration to make way for their cadres. In order to have its way with Tshwane, as it has done in Joburg, the ANC and its coalition partners need the city’s senior management staffed by people appointed for loyalty instead of merit.”

Brink claimed that, based on a media report, the ANC seems to be using a letter from Mamabolo as an excuse to purge the city’s top management.

“This is a complete change in the interpretation of senior management appointment regulations by the Gauteng provincial government, and probably legally erroneous. As an aside, other metros have appointed senior managers using the same interview panel composition,” he said.

He questioned the timing of Mamabolo’s concerns, given that he had previously assented to the appointments.

Matjila responded to the criticism, saying the DA should practice what it preaches about clean governance and principles. 

He emphasised that if irregularities are found, they must be addressed, and the ANC won’t tolerate any nonsense, including from the DA.  

“They have a history of appointing people wrongly. So, if for any other reason find fault, we are going to call for those people to be removed from the ANC. We are not going to nurse the feelings of the DA and Brink,” he said.

He said the issue of questionable senior manager appointments is still being reviewed by the MEC, adding that the ANC backs efforts to promote clean governance.

“We will not support anything wrong. We will not have delinquents running our government who were not appointed properly,” Matjila said.

Contacted for comment, mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said: “I am sure you can appreciate the importance of this matter. As such, I can officially confirm that the Executive Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, has indeed responded to MEC Mamabolo’s letter, and we are awaiting his feedback.

“We are committed to dealing with this matter in a manner befitting its importance and do not want to pre-empt our discussions with the MEC. At the appropriate time, we will take members of the media into our confidence and brief them accordingly.”

Mamabolo’s spokesperson, Theo Nkonki, has not yet responded to a request for comment.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

Source link