Beleaguered Enoch Mgijima Local
Municipality (EMLM) council has resolved on Tuesday, October 18, in a “highly confidential” special council meeting to immediately part ways with two of its
senior managers.
On the agenda, that was not
supposed to be seen by the media but landed in the hands of Komani-Karoo
Express, the items for discussion was “Legal implications: Termination of
contracts of municipal manager (MM) and Director Community Services”.
The municipal manager is
Nokuthula Zondani and community services director is Linda Bolani.
Bolani’s
appointment was set aside by the Makanda High Court in July as invalid as previously reported.
Zondani’s term was marked by
constant bickering with former administrator Monwabisi Somana. Under her
tenure, council took premier Oscar Mabuyane to court over what it claimed was a
botched administration.
Council, at the time, claimed municipal debts were
spiralling out of control because of the administrator. The municipality now
owes Eskom over R700 million.
Zondani also received a suspended sentence, along
with former mayor Luleka Gubhula, for contempt of court. However, the duo
successfully appealed the sentence.
Speaking to Komani-Karoo Express
on condition of anonymity, three independent sources confirmed Zondani and
Bolani had been shown the door.
“Today’s council meeting was about the
confirmation of the 30th September meeting where a resolution was
taken to dismiss Bolani. The meeting dealt to a large extent with the
termination of the MM’s contract,” the source said.
“The end of October is the last
day for the MM. However, she will be placed on special leave with immediate
effect until the expiry of the contract,” he said.
Another source, who also attended
the meeting, said it was resolved that failure by Bolani to abide by the high
court decision should lead to a court interdict.
Another councillor, also
speaking anonymously, said council was in unison that Zondani should be let go
citing a number of incidents including lack of service delivery. He added that council was divided on when Zondani should leave.
“There are views that she should
be left to finish the remaining nine days. But we feel she must go on special
leave and be paid while at home. We don’t know what else she can do if she
remains in office,” he said.
The politician said among discrepancies allegedly committed
by Zondani was paying Bolani’s salary, despite cooperative governance and
traditional affairs MEC not concurring to the appointment. He also cited damaged
roads and dilapidated municipal buildings, excluding those that caught fire.
The latter include the historic town hall that was gutted in fire early this
year.
ICYMI | WATCH | Komani Town Hall goes up in flames
The source said Zondani was not
supposed to have been employed on a five year contract as it was in the middle
of a council term when she was appointed in 2019. He said MM’s term of office
should be aligned to that of council referring to the Municipal Structures Act.
A quick google search said: “Any municipal manager who is
appointed after the Municipal Systems Act takes effect, must be appointed
on a fixed term of
employment. The term of employment must end within the first two years
after a new municipal council is elected.”
EMLM spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa
failed to respond to a media query from Komani-Karoo Express relating to the
resolutions of the council meeting. Bolani also did not respond to pointed
questions sent to her. Attempts to contact Zondani proved futile at the time of
writing.
