After receiving enough votes from the ANC and its coalition partner, the CSA, at a recent council meeting, Dr Edward Rankwana was re-appointed as the municipal manager in Dr Beyers Naudé Municipality for a further five years.
Samantha Graham-Mare, Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader, has expressed her grievances on the re-appointment of Rankwana and has therefore written to the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Zolile Williams, to ask that he finds the appointment of Rankwana void, based on non-compliance with the Municipal System Act.
According to Graham-Mare, the ANC and its coalition partner, the CSA, successfully voted to re-appoint Rankwana and at the same time, the DA, FF Plus and EFF opposed extending his tenure and voted for a re-advertisement of the position.
“During Rankwana’s time at the helm, he has failed to meet his
job’s most basic performance indicators and to provide leadership while the
municipality is experiencing a debilitating drought and electricity outages of
up to 12 hours per day.
“The number of outstanding
creditors has risen alarmingly, not least of which is the money owed to Eskom.
The review of the organogram, which should have been submitted in 2016 already,
remains outstanding. Assets are not maintained, nor do they generate any
income,” Graham-Mare said.
In
support of the position to veto the appointment, the DA caucus presented a
detailed list of the failures of Rankwana to fulfil his obligation, she added.
“I have personally laid two criminal charges against Rankwana.
One for the failure to address repeated breaches of the National Environmental
Management Act where raw sewage was flowing into the Sundays River in
Graaff-Reinet. This case was closed in 2022.
“The second case laid
because of the municipality deducting pension monies from staff members and not
paying them to the Pension Funds, remains open. At the time of laying the
charges, the municipality owed more than R25 million.”
