Suspended metro officials fight back

THE Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s massive drive to clamp down on lawlessness in the metro has been met with a fierce legal fight by some of its suspended senior officials, who are pushing to halt disciplinary cases against them.

At least two of the officials – including senior finance officer Nadia Gerwel – have gone to the Labour Court to challenge their suspensions, while human settlements director Mvuleni Mapu has applied to join their legal bid.

The suspended officials – Gerwel, Mapu, cooperative services boss Mod Ndoyana and director Chris Jamda – have been at home for more than six months. Gerwel has been off since June. They are accused of various irregularities, gross negligence, failure or refusal to cooperate with an investigation and violations of municipal law.

They were suspended soon after mayor Danny Jordaan took office in May.

The suspensions were billed as the beginning of a major crackdown on years of rampant corruption and mismanagement which severely hampered the city’s ability to deliver services.

By law, the municipality must kick off a disciplinary hearing within three months of charging the person.

However, several months later, these cases have yet to be wrapped up, and questions are mounting over whether the officials are deliberately stalling the process or the city is battling to get the charges to stick.

Acting corporate services boss Vuyo Zitumane said this week the municipality had not delayed any of the disciplinary cases.

She said they had all already started and were “part-heard” before presiding officers.

“The municipality has proceeded in terms of all prevailing laws and obligations placed on it as an employer,” Zitumane said.

“The employees, who are all legally represented – in some of the cases by senior counsel – have raised various preliminary points in law, which caused the matters to be delayed. “These legal challenges have included applications to the Labour Court.

“However, the municipality has thus far successfully opposed all points in limine.

“In addition, certain employees have requested the hearings to be postponed due to ill health, and we do not have control over this, but once it is exploited we will exercise our options.”

Zitumane said two of the officials who had been charged were seeking an order in the Labour Court that the municipality be interdicted from proceeding with its disciplinary hearings.

“The municipality has opposed this application and the disciplinary hearings will not be delayed by the aforementioned application to court.” Ndoyana disagreed, however, saying his hearing had started in December and only one charge had been dealt with thus far.

He blamed the metro for the delays.

“There’s no indication as yet from the municipality about when they plan to finish this,” he said.

“We haven’t even finished one charge yet and the delay is not with me, it’s with the municipality.

“The sessions have been postponed because of lack of information by the municipality.

“The last postponement was in January because they are still trying to gather information.

“I’m sitting at home for nine months being paid. The situation is really frustrating.

“There is no effort on the part of the municipality to speed up this process.

“I must be honest, I’m not afraid of being dismissed. But I just want us to follow the process and let’s test it.

“The municipality is now paying two executive directors, two directors, two assistant directors and so on, and all while this process is dragging on,” Ndoyana said.

Mapu’s attorney, Johan van der Walt, said they had applied to the Port Elizabeth Labour Court to join the application of two other municipal staff members who were accusing the municipality of not following its policy.

“We have applied to join the dispute and will [hear] on March 10 if we have been successful in joining them,” Van der Walt said.

“Until then, my client’s disciplinary hearing has been postponed.”

He said they believed that the metro had not followed its own disciplinary code.

“Firstly, the time they took to charge their employees is excessive,” Van der Walt said.

“The disciplinary hearing has to be finalised within three months.

“The argument is that this hasn’t happened.

“Also, there has to be an internal chairperson for the hearing or someone working within the state from elsewhere.

“The municipality has used an external chairperson.”

Gerwel’s attorney, Danie Gouws, said: “We are very positive regarding her position at this stage.

“Hopefully, this will be over soon . . . so they can run this city.”

Jamda’s attorney, Lauren Marshall-Reen, said: “The disciplinary hearing was scheduled to proceed on March 8 and 9.

“However, it shall not proceed at this time. “We await new dates. “Our client has reserved his right to challenge the fairness of his suspension in due course, should it become necessary.”