A public accounts meeting meant to discuss a National Treasury-commissioned forensic report into Nelson Mandela Bay’s beleaguered bus system collapsed after DA councillors walked out, leaving the meeting without a quorum.
It followed a heated discussion over whether or not the official presiding over the meeting – executive director Walter Shaidi – was legally able to fill the role of acting city manager as Peter Neilson could not attend the sitting.
The DA believes that because Neilson was appointed acting city boss by mayor Mongameli Bobani and not the council, his appointment was illegitimate.
The Mpac meeting started off with chair Phumza Tshanga raising concerns about the fact that Neilson was not at the meeting and had delegated his duties to Shaidi.
She said she had yet to be formally informed of Bobani’s decision to appoint Neilson.
She was echoed by ANC councillor Ncediso Captain, who said he was worried about the fact that there were three acting municipal managers within a month or two.
Captain said he was disappointed that Neilson had been appointed without having been endorsed by the council.
“And then he finds a way of appointing another person to act on behalf of him.
“It’s embarrassing and it’s disappointing in a way.
“[In] one month we’ve had three acting city managers.
“So it’s really embarrassing for us,” he said.
“[We want clarity] that whatever is being discussed here is going to be implemented or not on the basis of the confusion being created.
“What’s worse is we didn’t even receive an apology from the mayor.
“I’m worried because at the end of the day we’re the councillors who should be running the city and we should take responsibility and if we don’t run the city in a manner that it should be run, then it’s going to be a problem,” Captain said.
DA councillor Morne Steyn said: “I don’t know how we can proceed when we don’t have the authority to do so.
“We don’t have someone in that position that we can actually instruct.
“We can instruct the office and possibly that could be a solution to our problem.
“We’re sitting in a position where nobody’s got their house in order, we’re jumping around between acting city managers and this is causing chaos.
“We have no stability, this has been an issue that has been on the auditor-general’s report for the last three [or] four years.”
Lance Grootboom, of the ACDP, said: “Although we want to rectify that appointment, still it’s the council that appoints.
“The instruction that Mr Shaidi attend this meeting is coming from a person who has not been appointed by the council, so I think we should be very careful to make sure we know what we’re doing.”
The municipality’s legal services department advised, however, that the council had given Bobani the delegated powers to appoint an acting city manager after Johann Mettler was suspended.
Also, because the various department heads were at the meeting to answer for their respective reports, there would be no legal impediment to continue with the sitting.
The DA and ACDP, however, disagreed.
Steyn said: “Because this ruling coalition cannot get their house in order, we cannot continue with this meeting in good faith.
“The DA will not participate . . . we do not believe the acting city manager’s position to be valid and lawful and we cannot recognise the position as it stands.”
The five DA councillors then left the chamber, effectively collapsing the meeting.
Grootboom and members of the ANC and EFF stayed behind but could not continue.
After the meeting, Steyn said they did not want to be party to any decisions which could be regarded as illegal and be challenged in future.