PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Melony Paulsen, Bitou Municipality's director of community services, has been removed from her post after being found guilty on three of four charges she faced during a disciplinary hearing.
Paulsen, who was suspended on 1 October last year, pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The disciplinary hearing was concluded in April after four months.
Paulsen confirmed that she received the ruling and sanction from the chairperson of the inquiry, Bradley Conradie, on 26 May.
She maintained her innocence and claims that, according to her legal representative, there are "numerous errors both on the facts, evidence led and the law".
She said she never expected a fair and objective hearing. "This process was never fair from the onset, as I was never even given an opportunity to present my side during the so called 'independent investigation'.
"I however refused to resign and chose to proceed with my hearing as I maintain my innocence," said Paulsen.
"We are now preparing to submit an unfair dismissal dispute with the South African Local Government Bargaining Council."
Verdicts and charges
• Guilty: Gross misconduct for abusing her power and interfering with the duties of a municipal official while he was conducting a breathalyser test on her life partner, Shaun Phillips, during a routine traffic check on the N2 in 2024. She was charged with helping Phillips evade arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Guilty: The third charge related to her signing off, without formal authorisation, on the payment of inflated invoices from Isolomzi Security Services, despite attending a mediation which affirmed the original contract rates. The rates "exceeded the amounts stipulated in the service-level agreement".
• Guilty: Paulsen had allegedly misled senior municipal officials and council, confirming that a settlement agreement between the municipality and Isolomzi Security Services did exist. The charge alleged that she used this representation to justify the signing of invoices with inflated rates.
• Not guilty: She was charged with misleading the council in a matter relating to the N2 Lounge in Ebenhaezer, a business that she is "part owner of, or have an interest in".
It appears that she claimed to have recused herself from any involvement in the processing of a lease application for moving the N2 Lounge to a municipal property. "It is alleged that the management and control of the municipal capital asset by the business is in contravention of the appropriate and applicable municipal legislation and regulations," the charge read.
However, she was cleared on this charge.
Minutiae of evidence
According to Conradie, Bitou Munici-pality called the following witnesses: Officer Van der Berg, Mr Kika, Mr Ganga, Mr Lotter, Ms Westhead and Mr Tau.
Paulsen testified on her own behalf and called the following witnesses: Mr Vandala, Mr Yon, Mr Sijama, Mr Terblanche and Mr Plaatjies.
Conradie, as presiding officer, said he did not intend "to deal with all their evidence or to produce detailed summaries of the evidence of witnesses". He noted that "much of the case focused on the minutiae of the witnesses' evidence, particularly during cross-examination".
"In several instances," Conradie said, "the approach adopted resembled that of a criminal trial, as though the burden of proof were one of beyond reasonable doubt. It is trite that in disciplinary proceedings, the employer bears the burden of proving the charges on a balance of probabilities. I will accordingly assess the evidence on that basis."
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