Weeks after Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Johann Mettler was suspended, City Hall moved to halt all the disciplinary cases started by him.
Then, on realising the magnitude of what he had done, safety and security boss Keith Meyer – who was acting city manager for a few days – withdrew his instruction less than 24 hours later.
In a letter to Gray Moodliar Attorneys – the law firm representing the city in a number of disciplinary cases involving senior staff, including Integrated Public Transport System-related matters – on November 1, Meyer instructed the attorneys to halt all action until they were told otherwise.
His letter brings into question the procedural credibility of the disciplinary hearings of staff and puts in jeopardy some of the cases the city was pursuing, which have cost tens of millions of rand.
Meyer said in the letter that the decision was initiated by the council-appointed acting city manager, Noxolo Nqwazi.
“You are specifically instructed to hold in abeyance any action in the above matters subject to further instructions.
“Do not take any action in the above matters unless such is required in terms of the court dies, and you are kindly required to advice [sic] this office in this regard,” Meyer wrote.
He also requested a status report by November 6 on all matters Gray Moodliar was appointed for by Mettler.
“Your list should also include those matters where you are directly dealing with this office even if you were not necessary [sic] appointed by this office,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Meyer said he had retracted the letter the “very next morning”.
“The status quo remains. “In other words, I have withdrawn my letter, there’s no material impact,” he said.
“I withdrew the letter based on the information at my disposal.
“I felt that it’s not me that’s the appropriate person to make such a decision because it’s the responsibility of the acting city manager.”
Asked if he had been the one to draw up the letter to Gray Moodliar, Meyer said: “The initial letter was drawn up by legal services and [I signed it] because I consulted with [Nqwazi].
“Later on, I said ‘let me rather withdraw my letter and she can carry on with this matter on her own’.” Asked if he had received a response from the law firm, he said he had and it was based on that reply that he had decided to retract his initial letter.
“Because of the complexity of the matter, I felt that it wasn’t my place to make that decision,” Meyer said.
Some of the high-profile disciplinary cases that have been dragging on, some for years, include that of housing director Mvuleni Mapu, internal audit director Bonnie Chan, chief forensic auditor Werner Wiehart, and public health managers Nkosinathi Dolo, Joram Mkosana, Thabo Williams and Andile Tolom.
Other cases that are either heading to court or are before the SA Local Government Bargaining Council include those of human resources director Chris Jamda, and Nobuntu Mgogoshe of the legal services department.
On Friday, Wiehart’s disciplinary hearing was suspended until further notice after Gray Moodliar failed to produce an official mandate from the municipality giving it authority to represent the city. Wiehart was suspended in February after he allegedly failed to perform his functions in good faith, diligently and honestly.
Lawyer Carolyn Ah SheneVerdoorn, who is representing Wiehart, declined to comment.
Nqwazi has not confirmed the withdrawal of the instruction to halt all hearings, saying her office contacted various attorneys to get updates on disciplinary-related matters.
This was to “apprise” herself on each of the cases to be able to instruct on how to proceed.
“The purpose of the aforementioned correspondence and/or contact was designed to obtain necessary information regarding the conduct of disciplinary matters which were directly referred to various firms of attorneys by the suspended city manager, Mr Mettler.
“In order for me to respond to queries on behalf of the municipality, to third parties and members of the community at large, I require updates on each matter hence my request for progress and keeping matters in abeyance,” Nqwazi said.
One of the reasons for Mettler’s suspension was that mayor Mongameli Bobani felt he had appointed Gray Moodliar irregularly and that the firm was irregularly involved in municipal affairs.
In his response to the council on the allegations against him, Mettler said Gray Moodliar had been mandated to undertake disciplinary proceedings on behalf of the municipality from time to time and that it was necessary to defend these cases as it could result in the reinstatement of staff who had been dismissed for serious misconduct.
Bobani has openly spoken out about the fact that he believes the law firm unfairly received the largest portion of the money that the municipality spends on legal services.
He has also advocated for staff to be brought back from longstanding suspensions, alleging that black staff were specifically targeted by Mettler.