MEC not briefed on Mti appointment

EASTERN Cape Cooperative Governance MEC Fikile Xasa was not informed about the appointment of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s safety boss, Linda Mti.

Xasa’s spokesman, Mamnkeli Ngam, said yesterday they had not received correspondence from the municipality about Mti’s appointment.

The council approved Mti’s appointment in April during a closed meeting but the appointment was subject to Xasa’s approval.

By law, Xasa has to concur with an appointment of a senior manager in a municipality.

“The MEC confirms that he has not received correspondence from the metro on the appointment of Mr Mti. The matter remains news to us,” Ngam said.

In response to a question from DA leader in the legislature Athol Trollip which emerged yesterday, Xasa wrote: “The municipality claimed to have sent the recruitment submission regarding the appointment of Mr Mti to the department, which my office did not receive for concurrence purposes.”

But yesterday, metro acting city manager Johann Mettler said all documentation regarding Mti’s appointment had been sent to Xasa’s office last month.

“The full documentation as specified in the regulations regarding the appointment of senior managers has been posted to the MEC on the 9th of May,” Mettler said.

Mti, a former correctional services national commissioner who also headed security during the 2010 soccer world cup, is still under investigation by the Hawks for fraud allegations linked to the awarding of tenders worth about R2-billion to the Bosasa group between 2004 and 2006.

Trollip, the DA’s mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay, said yesterday he had asked Xasa to conduct a full investigation into the appointment of Mti.

“The DA calls on MEC Xasa to launch an investigation into the irregular appointment of Mti, and why Nelson Mandela Bay is withholding information on his appointment from the Eastern Cape provincial legislature.

“I have written to MEC Xasa today requesting his urgent investigation of Jordaan’s criminal pal, Linda Mti.”

Mti was previously found guilty of drunk driving.

Trollip accused Bay mayor Danny Jordaan of ramming through the appointment of Mti without following due processes.

In his written response to the legislature, Xasa said the municipality had not told him of criminal investigations against Mti.

Yesterday, Mettler said that in the documents sent to the MEC’s office, the municipality did not include information about allegations faced by Mti.

“The regulations do not specify anything about allegations and as such we would not inform the MEC of allegations that we hear in the media,” he said.