KNYSNA NEWS - Dissenting voices from the Western Cape Government's office and the Knysna Ratepayers Association (KRA) have followed the appointment of Dr Sandile Ngqele as the municipality's new community services director.
According to Mayor Elrick van Aswegen, Ngqele will be responsible for Parks and Recreation, Protection Services, Fire and Rescue, Disaster Management, Waste Management, Libraries, Arts and Culture, and Youth and Social Development.
Ngqele's appointment at the end of April was confirmed to be effective from the beginning of August.
The appointment was made despite a letter by Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell on 10 June, stating that Ngqele lacked the required senior level management experience for the position, as well as the Knysna Ratepayers Association stating that his appointment was "patently unlawful".
After Ngqele's appointment this week, Knysna Municipality said appointment of the municipal manager and managers accountable to the municipal manager is Council's prerogative.
"The appointment of Dr Ngqele was by majority vote, i.e. a majority of councillors supported the appointment. The DA members of council did not support the appointment and recorded their votes against it. Council takes note of the claims made by the KRA."
According to the KRA, the ANC and KUC councillors, enabled by the mayor and the ACDP, appointed Ngqele on 29 April 2021, despite the fact that the selection report and the report from the acting municipal manager advised that Ngqele did not meet the advertised requirements for the post and was not a suitable candidate.
The advertisement required at least two years' experience as senior manager, whereas Ngqele has never been appointed as a senior manager and should not have been shortlisted.
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The selection committee, comprising of the AMM, Adonis, Portfolio Councillor Salaze and the "specialist", Mr TM Sompani, was divided on whether Ngqele should be shortlisted, but Salaze and Sompani won the day. Sompani, who featured in KPH's report about the Bitou criminal syndicate last week, was the director of Community Services in Knysna until he was dismissed for misconduct involving dishonesty in about 2007, the KRA report stated.
"According to the Selection Report Salaze and Sompani gave Dr Ngqele irrationally high scores in the interviews, by contrast he met the base level of competence in the written assessment, whereas two of the other candidates were found to be of advanced competence. KRA has established that Dr Ngqele has not yet completed the financial minimum competency course, whereas two other candidates had completed the course. This alone should have led to his elimination," the KRA said.
Unlawful appointment
Following the initial resolution to appoint Ngqele in April, the Western Cape MEC of Local Government, Anton Bredell, sent a letter to Mayor Elrick van Aswegen on 10 June questioning the appointment. He advised the mayor that the appointment was unlawful, citing Ngqele's lack of experience at senior management level in accordance with the definition of a senior manager in the Municipal Minimum Competence Regulations and Section 56 of the Municipal Systems Act.
Bredell said according to this definition, a senior manager is "an individual that reports to either the municipal manager or the CEO of a municipal entity", and Ngqele has never been in such a post.
Bredell also referenced Ngqele's competency assessment which deemed Ngqele "competent, but not suitable for appointment". This, Bredell said in his letter, was due to the aforementioned lack of experience, the fact he was categorised in the 'Elimination Frame' in his Personality and Integrity Report, and finally the screening report that shows three judgements and two defaults in his financial history. Bredell further claimed that the selection panel had recommended a different candidate for appointment, and that the council opted to instead appoint Ngqele.
According to the KRA, Van Aswegen never shared the detailed findings in Bredell's letter with Council or the public.
Maximum salary
The KRA also stated that on 29 July, Council voted for Ngqele to be paid the maximum prescribed salary for senior managers. The AMM advised Council that due to the fact that Ngqele had only achieved basic competency, the regulations prescribed that he had to be paid at the minimum level.
Ngqele had been offered the minimum level and asked to be paid at the mid level, the KRA stated.
"The ANC councillors arrogantly proposed that he should be paid at the maximum level, which is patently illegal and much more than he asked for. This was opposed by the DA, but the ANC and KUC bulldozed this through while the mayor, Ricky van Aswegen, and the ACDP councillor abstained, thereby becoming complicit in the irregular expenditure that will be incurred."
The KRA has also asked the municipality for mediation in an attempt to avoid a costly legal dispute and are waiting to hear from the municipality in this regard. "We trust that MEC Bredell will approach the court to set aside the unlawful appointment unless the municipality rescinds its unlawful decision," the KRA stated.
"Should the matter not be resolved in mediation or by the intervention of MEC Bredell, KRA will report the matter to the Public Protector and approach the court to set aside the appointment. Should we be left with no other option but to go to court, we will ask for personal cost orders against the councillors who voted for it, as well as those who abstained."
The Constitutional Court has sent a strong message when it made the Public Protector pay costs out of her own pocket for the abuse of her power, the KRA statement said.
"Councillors are protected from personal cost orders, but only if they act bona fide in the execution of their duties. Regrettably the only way to put a stop to the blatant abuse of power and defiance of the law by the councillors responsible for this decision, is to make them put their money where their mouths are."
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