During December 2016 the DA released several media statements including one in which it vowed to write to the MEC of Local Government in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, to request that his office review all senior appointments made at Bitou Municipality and to specifically to determine whether due process had been followed and whether the chosen candidates were competent.
Before that the party also made headlines when it voiced concerns over the appointment of a law firm to "duplicate" the municipality's audit reports by the Auditor General – an exercise they believe could cost ratepayers up to R2-million. The party further said in a statement that the appointment was allegedly "done illegally".
The latest set of steps taken against the area’s new local government was laying a complaint of fraud against Tanya Wildeman, the wife of Bitou’s deputy mayor Euan Wildeman. Councillors including former Bitou mayor and current Eden mayor Memory Booysen claimed that the decision followed an internal disciplinary charge relating to the salary increase and car allowance which was brought against Tanya on March 24, 2014.
The DA’s constituency head in Bitou Donald Grant said that following this, Tanya was dismissed from the Bitou Municipality last year.
Grant said since the AUF-ANC coalition took control of Bitou in August this year, Tanya was reappointed and during a recent council meeting it was proposed that she be appointed as acting head of corporate services while the current head of the department, Alma Greyling, was out of the country.
This he believed was illegal in terms of the Municipal Systems Act.
Municipal spokesman Dumisani Mweba however hit back following these allegations and labelled Grant a “wounded politician who is lost and is seeking a niche in the political space”.
One of the issues raised by the DA was “the constructive dismissal of the municipal manager, Allen Paulse, and chief financial officer, Felix Lotter”, at the municipality. Grant claimed that their resignations followed their refusal to condone wasteful expenditure and irregular appointments.
A mutual termination agreement was reached and this was followed by the “swift” appointment of Thabo Ndlovu, formerly from the troubled Westonaria Municipality, as municipal manager of Bitou on December 2, 2016.
About this Mweba said that after due consideration a voluntary mutual termination of employment agreement had been entered into by both parties.
“The allegation of constructive dismissal, is therefore spurious, baseless and without any legal or rational foundation. If the Bredell wants to investigate this matter, all relevant documents will be presented, which will prove that both former senior officials resigned voluntarily as articulated above.”
About Tanya Wildeman’s reappointment Mweba said it was “bizarre and most perplexing” that she had been singled out by the DA. “
“It is unfair and unethical for them to do that. The only rational assumption would be that this is in fact an attack on her husband, for cheap political points scoring.”
He added that the reappointment had been done in terms of a settlement reached during arbitration.
“This is the best outcome that we have secured as the re-hearing of her matter on appeal by the independent presiding officer and based on the evidence led in total during this process, would have led to a finding against the municipality. There was therefore no need to pursue the matter any further. Tanya Wildeman is in terms of this settlement agreement entitled to return to the position as senior manager for human resources.”
He further said that her appointment as acting director of corporate serves was done in terms of a schedule approved by the previous municipal council in 2014.
“Council approved all positions as prescribed by Section 66 of the Municipal Systems Act prior to filling the vacancies. No appointments took place which were not on the approved organisational structure of council.
A number of posts were vacant when the new council took over the administration and were temporarily filled following a recruitment process which applied to filling permanent vacancies and that was done in accordance with the council’s recruitment and selection policy.”
ARTICLE: YOLANDé STANDER, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD CORRESPONDENT
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