KNYSNA NEWS - The Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, has raised concerns over Knysna Municipality's due diligence process in appointing Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Busisiwe Lubelwana, saying the appointment does not reflect the principles of good governance.
The municipality's appointment process has come under increasing scrutiny following questions over whether adequate vetting and background checks were conducted before Lubelwana was appointed.
In response to media questions, MEC spokesperson Wouter Kriel confirmed that while the department has not received any formal complaints or requests to investigate the appointment, the MEC initiated his own enquiries after learning that Lubelwana had been dismissed as chief financial officer at Emalahleni Local Municipality on 23 March this year.
Answers sought from municipality
On 15 July, Bredell wrote to Knysna Mayor Thando Matika and Speaker Aubrey Tsengwa requesting detailed information and supporting documentation relating to the appointment.
The MEC requested, among other documents, the council report that led to Lubelwana's appointment, details of the municipality's vetting and reference checks, whether enquiries had been made with her previous employer, and the legal basis on which the municipality concluded she was eligible for appointment despite her dismissal.
According to Kriel, the municipality's response, dated 23 July, indicated that its vetting, qualifications verification, reference checks and other due diligence processes were limited to the information contained in Lubelwana's curriculum vitae.
"The department is concerned that the municipality failed to exercise due diligence prior to the appointment being made."
He said the municipality also acknow-ledged it was unaware of Lubelwana's dismissal when Council approved her appointment. "It is materially essential that municipalities ascertain such information of a dismissal and related information which may affect an appointment," he said.
Dispute allows appointment
The department subsequently contacted Emalahleni Local Municipality, which confirmed that Lubelwana had referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council.
Because the dismissal is being formally challenged, Regulation 18(2) of the Local Government: Regulations on Appointment and Conditions of Employment of Senior Managers applies. The regulation exempts senior managers who have lodged disputes from the prohibition on re-employment following dismissal for misconduct.
As a result, Bredell said no intervention would be instituted at this stage, although his office would continue monitoring the outcome of the labour dispute.
Labour dispute
Knysna-Plett Herald previously reported that questions were raised over the municipality's appointment process after it emerged that Lubelwana had been dismissed.
The municipality maintained that her appointment complied with applicable legislation because her dismissal is the subject of an ongoing labour dispute.
However, concerns remained over whether sufficient background checks and due diligence were undertaken before Council approved the appointment.
Despite confirming that the appointment is legally permissible while the dispute remains pending, Bredell said the municipality's handling of the process "does not reflect the principles of good governance", because adequate due diligence was not exercised before the appointment was made.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
