THE South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Eastern Cape province says it has learnt with great concern the irregularities at the Amathole District Municipality regarding the re-appointment of the Municipal Manager Thandekile Mnyimba.
SANWU said these events have the potential to bring about instability in the institution which is already ailing as a result of failures in corporate governance and the financial situation which it finds itself in.
The union is unhappy with the re-appointment of Mnyimba for second term as Municipal Manager, citing poor performance and mismanagement of municipal funds.
SAMWU claims there were irregularities in the interview process leading to the appointment of Mnyimba and this was raised with the mayor and the MEC for COGTA in the Eastern Cape.
“As SAMWU, we therefore call on Council to rescind its resolution of 16th May 2022 and that the interview process be nullified while the vacancy is readvertised to allow for a fair process that is not influenced by factional politics to be undertaken,” the union said in a statement.
Persistent dismal audit outcomes, irregular deviations and allegations of misconduct, as well as various breaches of the statutory responsibilities are some of the reasons raised by the Amathole district municipality employees in their bid to prevent Mnyimba from returning to his office for another new five-year term.
Last month, the municipality employees and opposition parties also raised eyebrows when it scrapped an irrecoverable debt of over R1 billion.
“We have been consistent as SAMWU that the politicisation of the position of Municipal Manager has the potential to compromise service delivery as qualified and suitable candidates are overlooked in favour of politically connected individuals and those whose appointments seek to consolidate factional political party politics,” SAMWU said in a statement.
“We are aware that the Executive Mayor and the Speaker have already used their influence at the municipality and the interview panel to recommend a candidate whom they favour politically. Fact remains that the interview process was littered with irregularities and as such should have been halted when these were brought to the attention of the Speaker and the Executive Mayor. ”
Last year, opposition parties in the Eastern Cape called for the immediate suspension of Mnyimba and for a forensic investigation to be launched after the party claimed to have information of financial mismanagement in the municipality.
This came after Mnyimba issued a circular informing all 1 670 employees of the municipality that they would not be paid their salaries for four months due to strained financial resources.
The municipality cited a low revenue collection rate, an unaffordable R65 million monthly salary bill, the drought and the pandemic as reasons for the municipality’s bankruptcy.
Mnyimba also cited the fact that the category 6 municipality was unlawfully re-categorised by his predecessors to a category 7 municipality.
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