KNYSNA  POLITICAL NEWS – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has slammed the appointment of Dr Sandile Ngqele as Director of Community Services in the Knysna Municipality saying the decision was "clearly not made in the best interests of the people of Knysna".

The DA's call for the ANC, Cope, KUC and ACDP to urgently rescind the decision is being met with stoic support for the appointment from the ANC, who issued a congratulatory letter on Monday 3 May.

Report
In a statement on Friday 30 April, DA Knysna Constituency Head Dion George said they reject the ANC and its coalition partner's arbitrary appointment of the new Director of Community Services and should Ngqele's appointment not be rescinded, "the DA will consider every action to rectify the ANC's decision including High Court action and personal costs orders against those responsible".

"At a Knysna council meeting held yesterday, 29 April 2021, the ANC and the KUC voted to appoint a Director: Community Services," the statement reads. 

"This despite councillors being presented with a report which found that the appointed candidate: does not conform to the requirements of the advertisement and lacks senior managerial experience, which may result in a costly dispute for the municipality; had been categorised in the Elimination Frame in a personality and Integrity Report; and has three judgements and two defaults in a financial history screening report."

George said the report tabled to Council also contained allegations of political interference in the recruitment and selection process, as well as "discrepancies" in the scoring of the candidate whom the ANC and KUC voted to appoint.

"Despite ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa's recent testimony to the Zondo Commission that the ANC will now only appoint people to public service jobs who are fit for purpose, this is clearly not the case in Knysna," said George.

"The person that the ANC in Knysna has voted to appoint as Director: Community Services clearly does not meet the minimum requirements for this position."

Voting 'not transparent'
He said the DA in Knysna rejects the ANC, KUC and Cope's decision to hold the debate and vote on this matter behind closed doors and to keep the information about this appointment from the public.

"This decision is manifestly unlawful and the Democratic Alliance supports the public's right to transparent government. We also note with disappointment the fact that both the Cope Executive Mayor Ricky van Aswegen, and the ACDP Councillor Patrick Makhetha, abstained from voting on this matter and we urge them, in the future, to take a more principled stand on appointments of senior managers whose appointment will certainly greatly influence the future of Knysna," he said.

George said all DA Councillors in Knysna voted against the appointment.

'Extensive experience'
The ANC is standing by its decision, however. ANC regional secretary of the Southern Cape, Mzwanele "Major" Sokopo, said on Monday that the DA has become "honest to lies and they want to mislead the community of Knysna".

"Ngqele holds a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal," he said. "He joined local government in 1999, working in Knysna Municipality as IDP coordinator. He then went to Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality working as IDP and budget officer. From there he worked as an IDP manager in Ndlambe Municipality and also served in George Municipality as IDP manager responsible for performance management. He later joined the Western Cape local government as a deputy director." 

Sokopo said Ngqele is currently working as a senior manager in strategic services in Mossel Bay Municipality.

"Nothing was raised that would have made Council not to consider his appointment. Ngqele must be judged on his accolades as a government official, not on his race," Sokopo said.

"The DA is not sharing the extensive experience of Dr Ngqele. They claim that he lacks the skills. It would have been wise for the DA to go back and check their facts and not oppose the appointment because it is made by the ANC."

Later on Monday, the ANC issued a statement to welcome Ngqele as Director of Community Services, which lists Ngqele's qualifications and work history in detail. Read the statement at www.knysnaplettherald.com.

"We believe that his understanding of the developmental local government, extensive local government experience and theoretical knowledge of Public Administration will contribute to the service excellence of the Knysna Municipality," reads the statement. 

"The ANC welcomes Dr Nqele back to Knysna and wishes him success in his new endeavour to deliver services in a sustainable manner."

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