Cogta MEC Xolile Nqatha has sent a team of investigators to probe allegations that the Cradock-based Inxuba Yethemba council appointed Mkhululi Mbebe as municipal manager though he faces a maladministration probe and charges of stock theft.
Mbebe was appointed in February.
There have been numerous destructive protests in the area related to poor service delivery.
The DA in the Bhisho legislature is also pressuring Nqatha to take action against what it termed the irregular appointments of Mbebe and the municipality’s chief financial officer Lucky Mulaudzi.
In 2020, service protests in Cradock and Middelburg claimed the lives of two people and saw several municipal vehicles set alight.
Last week, in an oral response in the legislature to DA questions, Nqatha confirmed he had sent a team of officials to probe the council procedures that had led to the two allegedly rogue appointments.
DA MPL Vicky Knoetze was one of the voices calling for the provincial government to take action over what was happening at the council.
This week, Knoetze alleged that during a virtual council meeting held on February 18, speaker Thembi Mbotya “was held captive and intimidated in her home”.
The events that unfolded were incredibly traumatic to all participants and continued for about 30 minutes; actions which led to the council meeting being abandoned
“The events that unfolded were incredibly traumatic to all participants and continued for about 30 minutes; actions which led to the council meeting being abandoned.
“On the same day, the council continued with the meeting in which the acting speaker [Sibongile Masawe] unilaterally appointed Mulaudzi as the CFO, even though the council had resolved in January never to appoint him again.
“The acting speaker refused to allow the council to vote on the matter, and refused to call a division,” Knoetze said.
“The statement by the municipality that there was a majority ANC vote on the appointment, is malicious and false.”
It is understood the council’s January decision not to reappoint Malaudzi came after concerns about his qualifications for the job.
In a special council meeting in late February, Knoetze said the ANC unilaterally appointed Mbebe as the new municipal manager, allegedly refusing to allow the matter to go to a vote, or to call a division.
Knoetze said this was despite thousands of Cradock residents taking to the street “to protest against the mafia-style leadership of the municipality, and threats of further civil unrest should Mbebe be appointed”.
Mbebe had also been acting municipal manager “while municipal services have collapsed, with electricity outages, water outages and sewage leaks becoming commonplace”.
Knoetze said Mbebe did not deserve to be appointed municipal manager as he had been “implicated in maladministration in a section 106 report drafted under the Municipal Systems Act, and had a case of stock theft pending against him, which actually is on trial”.
“The type of mafia-style governance of this council is trampling on the very institutions of democracy.”
In October 2020, it was reported the Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation Unit in East London had swooped on the municipality’s offices and seized documents relating to alleged fraud and corruption and tender irregularities amounting to R26m.
In questions in the legislature, Knoetze recently asked Nqatha whether he was aware of the allegedly irregular appointments, and what his department was doing to bring back stability to the council.
In his response, Nqatha said: “Yes, the department has been informed about the matter of recruitment and the appointment of the municipal manager and the CFO; however the department has initiated a process of verifying if the processes, in terms of the local government regulations, have been followed and or complied with.”
Nqatha said his department was investigating whether council procedures were “in line with the council rules of order in reaching the resolution”.
A team of senior department officials had been dispatched, “to investigate all the matters related to these allegations”, and would report back to his office.
The calls for my removal have nothing to do with poor service delivery, but politics are at play
Mayor Noncedo Zonke, Masawe, Mbotya and Mulaudzi could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, while Mbebe confirmed that a team from Cogta had visited his municipality last week.
Mbebe confirmed a pending stock theft case against him, but declined to comment further, saying the matter was still in court and that his next appearance was on April 8.
“I was not found guilty of anything, hence I applied for that job and was successful.
“The calls for my removal have nothing to do with poor service delivery, but politics are at play.
“Previously I was wrongly accused of sexual harassment, but that was withdrawn by a court in December.
“There seems to be a third force or people with their own agendas who want to see my back.
“I understand that some of those calling for my head are people who were councillors and officials in this same municipality, and who have been going about creating unfounded stories about me.”
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.