Hello and goodbye

Update

KNYSNA NEWS - The eight political appointees in the office of political office bearers in Knysna Municipality have not been paid and "have left their offices".

This was confirmed by Acting Municipal Manager Roland Butler on Tuesday 29 November in response to questions from KPH.

On Friday 25 November, Western Cape High Court judge Robert Henney ordered the municipality to stop paying the appointees.

Henney's judgment came after an urgent application launched by the DA (Part A of the application) to stop payments to what the DA termed as "political cadres".

Butler said the Knysna Council "is obliged to adhere to the interim relief" (to stop paying the appointees) until Part B has been dealt with by the court.

Part A forms the first part of the DA's court challenge to overturn the appointments of the eight political appointees. The second part, Part B, on the merits of the case, is to be heard next year.

"We trust that Part B of the matter will soon be heard," said Butler.

In response to further questions Butler said, "No salary has been paid and the staff have vacated their offices."

AMM Roland Butler gave the appointees their marching orders on Tuesday.

'A victory for democracy'

After the judgment, Dr Dion George, the DA's constituency head in Knysna, said in a statement:

"This [the court order] is a victory for democracy and is a victory against corruption and cadre deployment. The coalition of corruption governing Knysna, the ANC/Patriotic Alliance /PBI/EFF coalition, illegally changed the municipal organogram and then without due process employed eight of their political cronies in positions at the municipality with money meant for temporary employment for unemployed Knysna youth during the high season."

Michele Botha is one of the appointees to be given the boot on Tuesday.

Undermining of law

The DA's application was launched after an in-committee Knysna Council meeting on 8 November resolved to pay the eight appointees.

There are a total of 18 respondents in the urgent application, that include Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa, Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi, Speaker Mncedisi Skosana and Acting Municipal Manager Roland Butler.

In his judgment, Henney slammed the "shameless and flagrant conduct" of the ANC coalition leadership in the Knysna Council, the respondents in the case.

"In this particular case the conduct of the respondents strongly undermines the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. On the facts before me, given the shameless and flagrant conduct of the respondents, and particularly the respondents who aligned themselves to the seventh respondent, the Deputy Executive Mayor Marbi, who was prepared to commit the fraud on this court… irreparable harm would be likely if the remedy (to stop the payments) was not granted," said Henney.

"They did not care whether their conduct would amount to fruitless, wasteful and irregular spending of public money despite being made aware thereof."

Dion George has consistently criticised the current ANC-led coalition in council.

Criticism of Marbi

Henney was particularly critical of Marbi, the leader of the PBI (Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners) in Knysna which is part of the ANC-led coalition in the council.

He said in his view, based on the facts available to the applicants (DA) and supported by former Acting Municipal Manager Johannes Jonkers, the appointees were not at that stage appointed.

Despite what Marbi states in his answering affidavit, which is "clearly contradicted in the form of a letter to him and the Executive Mayor by Jonkers", Marbi does not deal with this aspect in his answering affidavit which seems to be "a clear indication that he was trying to mislead the court as to the true facts about Jonkers' involvement in the appointment of the appointees."

A further disturbing aspect of Marbi's version was his "blatant untruth about the fact that they were not advised in the legal opinion not to finalise, authorise and sign the contracts of appointment".

"The conclusion is therefore ineluctable [that] what Marbi stated about the appointments clearly amounts to a fabrication on his part and as pointed out by the applicants that he is committing a fraud on the court," said Henney. Henney ordered that the question of costs will be decided after the finalisation of the rest of the application.

Former acting municipal manager Johannes Jonkers.