Sir,
We condemn in the strongest possible terms the threats meted out by a councillor to his Municipal Manager
On October 4, a councillor of Endumeni Municipality is alleged to have phoned the Municipal Manager, subsequent to proceeding to the Municipal Manager’s office. It is alleged that the councillor enquired from the receptionist about the availability of the Municipal Manager, and proceeded to enter the Municipal Manager’s office despite being informed by the receptionist that he was busy in a meeting. The councillor then allegedly threatened to ‘fix’ the Municipal Manager. The belligerent action displayed by the councillor clearly undermines ethical and professional behaviour entrusted to a public representative.
We call for the council to challenge this unprofessional conduct with immediate punitive measures, which are enshrined in Schedule 1 of Municipal Systems Act, particularly Section 11 – Intervention in Administration: ‘A councillor may not, except as provided by the municipal council unless mandated by council (sub-section b) give or purport to give any instruction to any employee of the council except when authorised to do so.’ We further instruct the council to adhere to Section 14, Sub-section 1: ‘A municipal council may establish a special committee to investigate and make findings on any alleged breach of this code.’ Sub-section 2 (a) to (e) of the said section provides a broad and detailed road map to council.
Given that a case has been opened at the Dundee SAPS on October 4, it is concerning that the council is reluctant or moving at a snail’s pace in establishing a committee to start the investigation as per provision of the above outlined legislation.
We call for public representatives to observe matters of good governance in order to adhere to constitutional values. Council must resist behaviour that will compromise the image of a public administration office. We further entreat the Democratic Alliance to distance itself from any uncivilised and unpatriotic action of its councillor.
We enjoin the DA to release its councillor from the public office, as he is not a peace broker, which is contrary to the development agenda which is the constitutional vision and value of our young democracy. The DA should pass the acid test by sticking to fidelity, honesty and acceptable behaviour of its members.
We are also obliged to request the service of the Public Protector so as to consolidate our hard-fought democracy.

Mzwakhe Sithebe
– Endumeni Community Representative