Council hoping proposed new CFO will pass Treasury scrutiny
Rochelle de Kock
THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is seeking legal advice on whether it should ask the council to appoint Trevor Harper – the chief financial officer of the Eastern Cape Gambling Board – as the metro's new finance boss.
This after Eastern Cape Local Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane rejected the council's appointment of Kumaran Nair as CFO, saying he did not believe Nair was the right person for the job.
Nair did not have the educational requirements for the job, according to his 11-page curriculum vitae, and he did not meet the requirements advertised by the municipality.
On Friday, mayor Ben Fihla gave councillors a report requesting their support to appoint Harper because Nair "does not possess the prescribed qualifications and as such ... cannot be appointed".
Fihla later withdrew the report. Although no reasons were given, The Herald understands some in the ANC refused to endorse it without a legal opinion giving Harper the nod.
This was because Harper, a qualified chartered accountant, does not have experience working in a municipality and therefore does not have the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) minimum competencies, which are national Treasury requirements for a CFO. An ANC councillor, who cannot be named because the matter was a confidential item, said it was debated extensively in the party's caucus meeting last week.
"Some councillors felt we cannot support another appointment and then it comes back to bite us again.
"Harper has the qualifications, but it's the Treasury unit standards that worry us. There were suggestions that we ask Treasury to exempt him from the minimum competencies and allow him to get them later, but we eventually decided on getting a legal opinion."
Another ANC councillor said they had asked the interview panel to investigate Harper's qualifications and to be sure he met all the requirements before asking the council to appoint him.
A third ANC councillor said they hoped to receive a report with legal advice at Friday's special council meeting.
Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said: "We'll exhaust all processes and seeking legal advice is part of those processes ... We are hoping this issue will go to the next council meeting".
Harper has extensive experience in the private sector, including a stint in New York. He has been working at the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board since 2010 and was the chairman of the audit committee of the Eastern Cape Department of Health.
