KZN Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi has ordered KwaDukuza municipality to appoint a new acting municipal manager after council failed to follow the correct process.

Buthelezi wrote to KwaDukuza mayor Siduduzo Gumede last Thursday, declaring chief financial officer Shamir Rajcoomar’s acting appointment unlawful.

The MEC directed council to request the secondment of a suitable person to fill the position.

The dispute follows the end of Siyabonga Khanyile’s term as acting municipal manager on August 27.

As previously reported by the Courier, council resolved on August 20 to appoint Rajcoomar to take over from Khanyile.

Municipal spokesperson Bridget Shange said at the time that council had acted before Khanyile’s term expired to ensure there was no leadership gap.

Shange said Rajcoomar’s appointment was not a last-minute decision, but followed a process and was formally approved by council. She said the appointment was intended to ensure uninterrupted service delivery.

The municipality has been without a permanent municipal manager since February, when Nhlanhla Mdakane was placed on precautionary suspension alongside corporate services executive director Pamela Mntaka and civil engineering executive director Thembela Nxumalo.

Their suspensions followed a Section 106 forensic investigation initiated by Cogta.

However, Buthelezi said Cogta had previously advised the municipality that once Khanyile’s acting term ended, council should request that the MEC second a suitable person. Instead, council appointed Rajcoomar.

“I therefore advise that the acting appointment of Mr SM Rajcoomar is unlawful,” Buthelezi said in the letter.

Buthelezi said he would not agree to council’s request to approve Rajcoomar’s acting appointment and gave the municipality five days to request the secondment of a suitable person from Cogta.

The MEC’s finding also raises questions about the implications, if any, for decisions Rajcoomar made while acting municipal manager.

A special council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, when the matter is expected to be tabled in committee.

The municipality had not responded at time of publication.