Knives out for Mamusa municipality council posts

The Mamusa local municipality is embroiled in fresh controversy after an outgoing municipal manager appointed an official to act in his place without council authorisation after he resigned.

Senior councillors have expressed concern about the formerly seconded municipal manager Frans Mabokela’s decision to appoint a director of community services as acting municipal manager after he resigned to return to his job in the provincial administration.

The duty to appoint the municipality’s accounting officer rests with the council, which must approve such appointments through a resolution. But there was no council meeting.

‘There’s a problem in appointment’

“There is a problem in this appointment, it is deliberate action,” said an official who did not want to be named.

“Mabokela wants to rule from the grave and manipulate the municipality from outside using the person that he appointed. The authority to appoint an acting municipality manager is vested with the council, not a seconded municipal manager or a seconded person.

“Mabokela is no longer the acting municipal manager at Mamusa. This move is meant to perpetuate the view that there are two municipal managers in Mamusa. Therefore, it must be put under administration due to unfounded political instability.”

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Trouble at the municipality began when the council reversed its decision to fire the first municipal manager, Rantsho Gincane, and then reinstated him.

Gincane was removed by the council last year, allegedly due to a lack of qualifications for the job.

But the council, realising that it did not follow proper procedure, decided to reverse its decision and reinstated Gincane during a meeting on 18 March. It was at the same meeting that Mabokela was removed.

Mamusa council reinstated Gincane on 18 March

But Gincane’s return was not accepted by the council speaker, Gotsilekgosi Batsi, who was supported by MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs Saliva Molapisi.

Batsi and Molapisi recognised Mabokela as municipal manager. Now the council is divided between those who support Gincane and those who back Mabokela.

With Mabokela now going, Gincane is supported to continue in his original job, but Batsi, who was also removed as speaker through a motion of no confidence by the council, continues in his position and has refused to allow Gincane back.

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Molapisi was criticised for interfering in the municipality’s affairs and working with the ousted Batsi to oppose the council’s resolutions to reinstate Gincane and remove Mabokela and Batsi.

The speaker was removed after he refused to implement two 8 March council resolutions to reinstate Mamusa and to remove the acting municipal manager, Mabokela.

Molapisi continued to call Batsi the speaker, although he was removed in a motion of no confidence by the council and is opposed to Gincane’s reinstatement.

MEC Molapisi criticised for interfering

Molapisi was advised by his own office to respect the council’s decisions as the council is the competent body to make a determination on the question of the municipal manager and speaker.

The MEC’s job was merely to determine an appropriate route to be taken under the circumstances.

“It will be within the contours of the law for the MEC to decide what route to take to address any situation that would have arisen out of that,” an advisor reportedly told the MEC.

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