City boss gets R1m payout

[caption id="attachment_105017" align="alignright" width="300"] ANOTHER ONE: Bay mayor Danny Jordaan explains the package given to municipal manager Mpilo Mbambisa. With him are deputy mayor Bicks Ndoni and speaker Maria Hermans. Picture: MIKE HOLMES -[/caption]

THE hunt for a new city boss has officially begun after the Nelson Mandela Bay council yesterday rubberstamped a R1.047-million payout to former city manager Mpilo Mbambisa.

The Bay’s political leadership believes that the decision to settle with Mbambisa averts what would have been a lengthy and costly disciplinary process had they decided to pursue the allegations of misconduct against him.

The R1.047-million settlement – the lowest of all the golden handshakes for the metro’s past three municipal managers – is the equivalent of six months’ salary.

It was backed by the ANC and COPE at a closed special council meeting yesterday. The DA and UDM did not support the payout, saying Mbambisa should face the allegations against him.

Mayor Danny Jordaan said later that they had taken into account a number of things, including the need to create immediate stability in the metro.

“If we had to go the disciplinary route it would have been more cumbersome and, in our view, more costly . . . and if you deal with the matter through a suspension, an investigation and a tribunal, you may have a situation that such a key position, a city manager, may be vacant for three to six months, or even longer,” he said.

“The cost of engaging legal services could easily be between R4-million and R8-million, depending on how long the process takes.

“We took a decision that the best way to resolve this matter is through a negotiated settlement between ourselves and the city manager.”

Deputy mayor Bicks Ndoni, who handled the negotiations on the metro’s behalf, said Mbambisa had resigned on Thursday, when he signed the settlement agreement.

It had been “in both our interests to settle”, Ndoni said.

“Effectively from [yesterday], he’s no longer part of the metro and we will now embark on the process to replace him.”

Jordaan said they hoped to have a name for Mbambisa’s replacement by the next council meeting, on October 29.

His replacement would be the city’s sixth administration head since the metro was formed in 2000.

“We are talking to Cogta [Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs],” Jordaan said.

“We’ll get a list [of possible candidates], but what is important is that by the 29th we have a name to fill that post.

“No process is going to be excluded, provided that we understand the urgency of time and that we want to fill the post.”

Budget and treasury committee chairman Rory Riordan said the municipality would have “exhausted” more than R1-million had it opted to pursue disciplinary action.

 - Rochelle de Kock