KwaDukuza municipality has appointed chief financial officer Shamir Rajcoomar as the new acting municipal manager.

The municipality has been operating with an acting municipal manager since February, when municipal manager 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 the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).

Community services and public amenities executive director Siyabonga Khanyile was subsequently appointed acting municipal manager. His six-month acting term expired on August 27.

Municipal spokesperson Bridget Shange said council had anticipated the expiry and acted beforehand to ensure continuity.

At its August 20 meeting, council resolved to appoint Rajcoomar as acting municipal manager, ensuring the position would not be left vacant.

Rajcoomar’s appointment comes just over two years after his return to the CFO position following a lengthy and contentious suspension. In July 2024, council unanimously resolved to reinstate him after he had been suspended for almost a year.

His suspension had sparked legal proceedings and significant public pressure, including a petition by four civic organisations calling for his return.

“The appointment was therefore not an impromptu decision, but followed a process initiated in response to the anticipated vacancy and was formally established through a decision of Council,” said Shange.

The clarification follows concerns raised last Friday by DA KwaDukuza mayoral candidate Privi Makhan, who said the municipality had been left without an acting municipal manager after Khanyile’s term expired.

Makhan said the DA had approached CoGTA for legal guidance, arguing that there should be no leadership vacuum in the office responsible for the municipality’s day-to-day administration.

Shange said Rajcoomar’s appointment followed the appropriate governance processes and was intended to maintain uninterrupted service delivery.

Mayor S’duduzo Gumede wished Rajcoomar well and called for full support during his acting term.