Brink appears to be ahead of other candidates but there have been questions raised about his character.
Johannesburg’s former city manager Floyd Brink could get his job back at an important council meeting on Thursday.
Council speaker Margaret Arnolds has invited councillors to an extraordinary meeting that will discuss recommendations to the council and HR reports among other issues.
But two well placed sources have told The Citizen that this meeting may also be used to reappoint Brink into his old position.
Brink’s expected comeback
“Even though the notice itself does not explicitly say appointment of city manager, it says HR reports,” said a source.
According to media reports, Brink has gone through interview processes and received a higher score than other candidates.
He was competing with CEO of the Council for the Built Environment Dr Msizi Myeza and the city’s COO Tshepo Makola.
Former Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) COO Helen Botes was also in the race.
“Brink can be appointed because the court issue was about the processes that were not followed in appointing him and the rules. It was not necessarily about him as a candidate,” the source said.
Background
Brink was removed as city manager late last year after the High Court in Johannesburg ruled that his appointment was irregular. The DA was behind the court challenge.
It is not clear if the party will challenge his re-appointment.
Before Brink, Johannesburg was without a city manager from February 28 2021, after the then mayor Geoff Makhubo and city manager Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni agreed to a mutual separation of employment.
The government of local unity (GLU) first appointed Brink as city manager in February 2023, shortly after Mpho Phalatse was removed as the mayor of Johannesburg.
He is an experienced administrator and has a doctorate in public administration.
Johannesburg Crisis Alliance
A spokesperson for the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), Yunus Chamda, told The Citizen that it is concerning that the city manager post has been left vacant for months.
“We are concerned about the vacancy that has existed for so long. Obviously a city that is as big and complex as Johannesburg needs stability, especially in the most senior administrative position.
“But at the same time there are areas that are of great concern to us that is why we have always championed the idea of an ethical and competent city manager and those two things are very important for Johannesburg,” he said.
Chamda said service delivery in Johannesburg has become a concern for the alliance.
“There are several areas in the City of Johannesburg that need urgent attention and a lot of it has not been attended to. I think the vacuum in the office of the city manager has a lot to do with this,” he said.
Chamda said he had noted that the interviews for the position of city manager had been done but he said the JCA hoped that the public would be included in the filling of this position.
“We have made written submissions to the city regarding the process, which we think should have involved some sort of independent process. The final power to appoint the city manager rests with the council, and that is fine, but we were of the view there should have been some sort of independent panel which would assess the candidates in an independent way,” he said.
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‘Absence of city manager is concerning’
Sanet Solomon, a political analyst from the University of Free State (UFS), told The Citizen that city managers are important because they oversee the daily administrative functioning of the city.
“The absence of a city manager is concerning given their role in ensuring the effective implementation of utilities and services to residence.
“More importantly, they interact with various stakeholders, coordinate between different departments in the city and play a role in the oversight and maintenance of the city’s budget.
“The absence of a city manager means that these tasks remain unfulfilled,” said Solomon.
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