PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - One of the up-to-now "confidential" reports relating to former municipal manager Mbulelo Memani's suspension and removal is the Musetsho investigation (dated April 5, 2024).
It looked into Memani's alleged wrongdoings, found him guilty of "misconduct", and recommended the council "institute disciplinary proceedings against the municipal manager".
The full document is contained as part of the court record in the DA's High Court application.
On 3 May, it was presented at an "in-committee", or secret, council meeting. While the "confidential" report by Musetsho Law Inc has not been distributed, it has been seen by the Knysna-Plett Herald.
On 14 May, Bulelani Bans, Memani's lawyer, responded to questions posed by the Knysna-Plett Herald, and said they were not officially in possession of any "Musetsho Law Inc Investigation Report", "therefore we cannot comment on any of the allegations in the said report".
He proposed that the Knysna-Plett Herald reveal "the info your source may have disclosed to you and possibly sending you down the wrong rabbit hole".
"What we can infer from your correspondence is that your source may be well situated in a position of privileged information within Bitou Local Municipality and whatever leak of confidential and privileged information would amount to a breach of contract and exposes Bitou Local Municipality to litigation.
"Which will have huge financial implications for them as an entity.
"We trust you will be accordingly guided, prior to you finalising your article for publication. As this may also expose Group Editors to possible litigation.
"As we have noted (the) majority of the news articles published in KPH appears to be one-sided journalism."
He also said any sort of agreement (between the municipality and Memani) "that may or not have been entered into, in all probability is protected by a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and should we be party to same we intend to honour such an undertaking".
Helen Zille, the chairperson of the DA Federal Council, referred to both the agreement and Musetsho investigation in her affidavit. The Musetsho report resulted in the council resolving that the allegations against Memani were "of a serious nature".
While the Musetsho report made various findings against Memani, it also contained a "peculiar" disclaimer: "NB: Please note that there are very serious allegations against the municipal manager which also flows to managers directly accountable to him.
"For an exceptional quality report, we request that you note that there're are documentations that we are still waiting for to support and corroborate the allegations made. Upon getting them the report will be supplemented.
"Further to the above there is still forensic evidence that will be supplemented to the report at a later stage when it is ready."
Zille added: "In short, the report states that the investigator did not obtain evidence to support all the allegations it was requested to investigate."
Among the findings of the Musetsho report is that Memani and the then executive mayor (Dave Swart) allegedly agreed to amend the "material terms" of Memani's contract that said Memani's contract would be "immediately" terminated should he be charged with financial offences in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act "or theft, fraud and/or corruption, and/or any other act of dishonesty".
Memani and Swart allegedly changed Memani's contract, removing this condition when his probation period lapsed.
It also found "that the amendment of the contract of Mr Memani by the Mayor was unlawful".
There was also a charge of misconduct against Memani regarding the dismissal of former community services director Misiwe Mphalwa being "premised on political dimensions".
Mphalwa's dismissal resulted in the municipality being directed to pay her R1,6 million following a SA Labour Bargaining Council (SALBC) directive.
The municipality still faces an additional claim from Mphalwa concerning the balance of her contract, which could bring a severance payout close to R5m.
In addition, according to "subsequent evidence uncovered during the Musetsho investigation, an alleged case of nepotism was highlighted due to Memani appointing a relative of his wife as a traffic official, without following tender processes".
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