Note to Broadcasters: Please find linked soundbites in English and Setswana by Cllr Nelio Nhacuangue.
The DA has written to the North West MEC for COGHSTA, Nono Maloyi, calling for his urgent intervention to resolve the impasse in the Rustenburg Local Municipality Council after the fourth consecutive Council meeting to consider the permanent appointments of a Municipal Manager (MM), a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and eight Directors collapsed. The meeting collapsed because the ANC Mayor, Cllr Shiela Mabale Huma, refused to table the selection panel’s report on the recruitment, interview and selection process. See letter here.
We have also submitted a PAIA application to gain access to the report.
The Municipal Manager position has been vacant for more than a year, and while an Acting MM has been appointed, he is unable to make concrete decisions towards improving service delivery. A year-long Acting appointment is also irregular and the ANC-led Council is pushing the boundaries of what is legally permissible. An Acting Municipal Manager can only be appointed for a 3-month period, which may be extended for another three months, but there is just no justifiable reason for a more than 12-month vacancy.
In short, the Rustenburg municipal administration is leaderless. This leadership vacuum in the administration potentially places at risk the allocation of grant funding to support infrastructure maintenance and new build projects, which will further hamper service delivery.
The collapse of yet another council meeting due to the inability of the Rustenburg ANC-led coalition to effectively manage the city’s affairs compromises the ability to deliver services, adversely affecting residents.
Mayor Mabale Huma‘s refusal to table the selection panel’s report to Council is a deliberate attempt to get Council to illegally confirm the appointment of the MM, the CFO and directors. The DA will have no part in the ANC-led coalition government’s unlawful action.
The report must be tabled so that Council can fully interrogate the entire recruitment process, and consider the recommendation made by the selection panel, so that competent, qualified, skilled and experienced individuals not aligned with the failing ANC can be appointed to begin the work of restoring service delivery throughout the city.
The DA in Rustenburg will continue to fight for a transparent recruitment process, to prevent another instance of ANC cadre deployment, which will only collapse governance and service delivery further.
We will not stand by while the ANC tries to illegally appoint a Municipal Manager and a host of senior managers who directly report to the accounting officer outside of the legislated process under the Municipal Structures and Systems Acts. Council must have access to the full report, once Council appoints a permanent Municipal Manager, then Council can consider the appointment of the CFO and directors after consultation with the newly appointed accounting officer.
Should MEC Nono Maloyi’s intervention fail, and our PAIA application be rejected, the DA will consider other mechanisms at our disposal, including possible legal action, to force Mayor Mabale Huma to table the report.