VANDERBIJLPARK.- Business has reacted with anger and revulsion at the appointment of Emfuleni Local Municipality’s (ELM) CFO Andile Dyakala as acting Municipal Manager – directly blaming him for the botched handling of recent crippling power blackouts in the Vaal.
Further outrage spilled over after it also emerged Dyakala ordered a resumption of the failed electricity meter replacement campaign in Emfuleni to replace smart meters – but without any meaningful consultation or planning with residents and business.
The meter replacement programme, supposedly in place of the successful smart meter programme, is a dismal failure with less than 22 000 out of 66 000 meters estimated as functional, leading to catastrophic ELM revenue losses.
Now organised business and politicians have demanded that the inexplicable and sudden resumption of meter replacements be halted and that Executive Mayor Gift Moerane immediately remove Dyakala as acting Municipal Manager.
The DA was also strongly considering boycotting a planned ELM council meeting this week to avoid giving a quorum to formally approve Dyakala’s appointment, sources said.

Dyakala has numerous outstanding negligence, mismanagement and gender-related abuse allegations and investigations against him thus making him “completely unfit” to occupy the top administrative position at ELM, said the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC).
The GTCoC has repeatedly called for Dyakala’s removal from all ELM management positions and said the present dire state of the municipality was directly due to his incompetence and negligence.
GTCoC CEO Klippies Kritzinger also said the slow response by ELM to last week’s ELM power blackout crisis could also be attributed to Dyakala who has acting Municipal Manager since October 15.
“Dyakala is totally unfit for any executive position, and he is to blame for the present Eskom and Rand Water crisis – and he was complicit in destroying the smart meter programme and thus a major revenue stream of the municipality,” said Kritzinger.
Dyakala has also had a court protection order issued against him for severe gender abuse last year of a female acting Executive Masyor, Khetiwe Ntombela, but to date has escaped any accountability.
Dyakala was also accused by now-suspended Municipal Manager Lucky Leseane of insubordination, running smear campaigns against leading business and media figures in the Vaal alongside gender abuse charges.
To date these formal investigations against Dyakala have not led to action against him.
An ELM spokesperson this week said the Acting Municipal Manager position was filled on a rotational basis – but Ster has learned that scheduled senior managers refused to accept appointment leaving the door open for Dyakala.
“This is blatant manipulation – whistle-blowers against Dyakala will now be victimised and the situation is simply intolerable. Mr Mayor, do your duty and remove Dyakala from ELM permanently now!” said Kritzinger.