Garden Route District Municipality and Stratu part ways by mutual agreement

Update

GEORGE NEWS - Municipal Manager Monde Stratu’s employment contract will be terminated by mutual agreement with the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) following an in-committee council meeting on Tuesday 28 July.

The agreement, which takes effect on 31 July, subject to Council approval, brings Stratu’s more than nine-year tenure as municipal manager to an end, a position he has held since March 2017.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Mayor Marais Kruger thanked Stratu for his service and described their working relationship as respectful.

“I want to thank him for his work, his knowledge and his professionalism that he added to the Garden Route District Municipality,” said Kruger. He pointed out that the municipality had achieved five consecutive clean audits during Stratu’s tenure.

In the statement, the municipality listed several milestones under Stratu’s leadership, including the establishment of the Garden Route Skills Mecca, the opening of the district’s first municipal-owned regional fire station, national recognition for its communications unit, and progress on the regional waste management facility.

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Addressing the councillors for the final time during the preceding general council meeting, Stratu thanked them, the officials and his family for their support throughout his tenure. “I leave this municipality a changed man,” he said.

DA ‘ready for leadership’

In a separate statement issued in his capacity as DA Garden Route District caucus leader, Marais Kruger struck a markedly different tone, welcoming the mutual separation agreement and saying it presented an opportunity to restore “stability and delivery”.

The caucus argued that the municipality had experienced governance challenges and strained relationships in recent years, including disputes surrounding the Roads Agency Function, and said the next municipal manager should prioritise ethical leadership, good governance and service delivery.

“As the DA caucus, we are ready for a new chapter,” said Kruger in an interview with George Herald. “It is election time, and we believe the GRDM should play a prominent role. We have an important place in the hierarchy of local government.”

Kruger said an internal official who has previously served in an acting capacity will serve as acting municipal manager for the next three months, until the election. The identity of this person was not shared with the media.
He confirmed that the detailed terms of the separation agreement remain confidential, as the matter was considered during an in-committee council meeting.

Asked to comment on his departure, Stratu declined, saying the statements issued about his exit were contradictory. “I would not like to be drawn into matters relating to the GRDM any further,” he said.

GRDM executive management in Council, 28 July: Lusanda Menze (Integrated Planning and Economic Development), John Daniels (Roads and Transport Planning Services), Rian Boshoff (Corporate and Financial Services), Monde Stratu (Municipal Manager) and Nthabeleng Raisa-Mlandu (Community Services). Photo: GRDM