Eastern Cape co-operative governance MEC Fikile Xasa says before he decides on whether or not to intervene and send an administrator to the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, he will have to go through the city’s formal written response to allegations of instability.
Xasa had a meeting with Bay mayor Mongameli Bobani along with members of the mayoral committee on Thursday at Mpekweni Beach Resort near Port Alfred.
This followed a letter from the DA to Co-operative Governance minister Zweli Mkhize, asking him to send an administrator to run the municipality due to what it described as instability within the administration.
In the letter to Mkhize on Tuesday, DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga wrote that the party believed that invoking Section 154 of the constitution – to provide national government support – would bring much-needed stability.
On Friday, Bhanga wrote another letter to Mkhize, saying acting municipal manager Peter Neilson had been given illegal instructions by Bobani to bring all suspended staff back to work regardless of the merits of their cases.
On Friday, Xasa said that at their meeting they had discussed the issues raised by the DA to Mkhize and told the delegation from the metro to respond officially in writing.
“I can’t say much other than the process is ongoing. But taking over an administration or sending an administrator is a process and not something that can be done overnight,” Xasa said.
He said when issues were raised pertaining to a municipality, the first thing the department did was provide support before intervening, saying it should always be done in accordance with the law.
“Once we identify what the problem is, the constitution demands we provide support on all those areas that have been identified.
“What we want is for the metro to compile a report and identify where there are gaps and they must indicate how we can provide that support, and if that gap is serious, then we consider stepping in,” Xasa said.
In his letter to Mkhize, Bhanga compiled a list of concerns, including the appointment of Neilson as acting city manager earlier this week.
“We believe Mr Neilson [lacks] the minimum competency levels,” Bhanga wrote.
“The lack of minimum competency is a great cause of concern as [it] will expose the institution to further adverse risk.
“We [believe] the appointment of Mr Neilson, if subjected to legal scrutiny, will reveal gross disregard of Section 54 of the Municipal Systems Act,” he wrote.
Bhanga noted the brief given to Neilson by Bobani – to find a way to conclude longstanding suspensions in the city.
Other concerns raised in the letter include:
● Critical senior manager positions are vacant;
● Bobani is implicated in an investigation by the Hawks involving IPTS money; and
● Plans by the municipality to award tenders amounting to R18m to 600 SMMEs without following the correct tender processes.
On Friday, Bobani said the meeting with the MEC had gone well.
He accused the DA of stirring up trouble and said he had told Xasa that there was no instability in the metro.
“The DA doesn’t have any information. They could have written to us and requested information instead of writing to the minister.
“They are lying and claiming instability.”
Bobani said Neilson’s appointment as the acting municipal manager had been done within the scope of the law.
“The DA caused all this mess and we are still trying to clean up,” Bobani said.