Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The labour court has dismissed the suspended Bitou municipal manager Mbulelo Memani's urgent application to stop his disciplinary process from continuing and have him reinstated.

The judgment, delivered by Judge Robert Lagrange in Cape Town on 3 August, dismissed Memani's application with costs, with the judge stating that he was satisfied Memani "has not raised any ground of appeal which is compelling or which would have a reasonable prospect of success on appeal".

Memani's disciplinary hearing is now expected to continue, with the hearing anticipated to be finalised by the end of September. 

The judgment struck off Memani's request for relief regarding his suspension and dismissed his application to stop his disciplinary enquiry pending the outcome of a review over whether his disciplinary enquiry had started within three months of the Bitou Council's decision to institute disciplinary action against him.

Lagrange said the application was dismissed because Memani had not "pleaded his cause of action clearly" to enable the court to determine which of his rights were allegedly being violated and why the court had jurisdiction.

The court found that Memani had not demonstrated a clear right to the relief he sought. "In particular, Memani had requested a postponement of the hearing and had then sought to argue that when the postponed hearing did convene, because the three-month period for commencing the enquiry had passed, the municipality could not proceed with the enquiry that had been postponed at his own instance," Lagrange said.

Lagrange further found that there were no exceptional circumstances warranting the labour court's intervention.

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