Dear Members,
Ongoing Political Interference in Senior Management Appointments
In our most recent update to you, we raised our concern of political interference which led to the removal of both the Municipal manager and the CFO and their replacement with less skilled and experienced individuals. We also lamented the municipalities inability to hold people accountable for wrong doing and in many cases, their re-employment into positions of responsibility.
Unfortunately we are once again confronted with political decisions that threaten the fabric of our municipal governance. Contrary to merit based appointments, political interference continues to erode the integrity and competency of our administration. It goes without saying that the performance of any institution can only ever be as good as its senior management. This is why municipal legislature very clearly specifies minimum standards relating to skills and work experience.
Two senior management appointments were made last week to individuals who clearly do not meet these minimum standards. We are also aware of the re-employment of manager who was dismissed due to serious charges of wrong doing.
This comes hot on the heels of the removal of the Municipal Manager, the replacement of the CFO and the appointment of Ralph Links as Acting Municipal Manager. According to a High Court judgement, Ralph Links is not qualified to hold the position (see attached letter to MEC Bredell and the High Court judgment).
The new appointments are;
Luvuyo Loliwe appointed as Director of Corporate Services
Tanya Wildeman appointed as Director of Planning and Development
Neither of the individuals we believe meet the minimum requirements for relevant work experience and/or educational requirements. Both individuals have been implicated in serious wrong doing. Wildeman was dismissed by the Bitou Municipality for financial misconduct in 2016 but has remained as HR manager since then. (attached letter to MEC Bredell refers)
There is also a growing trend that dismissed officials are successfully appealing their dismissals, unopposed by Bitou, and in many cases returning back to work in positions of responsibility. This is usually after a lengthy and expensive suspension and disciplinary process. We are aware of a number of cases and concerned that more will transpire unless greater diligence is applied to the disciplinary process. Political interference is often at play and this leads to an increasingly compromised management team.”
Our entire community is now more vulnerable than ever to incompetence, misconduct and corruption and we need to take heed of the caution expressed in the above mentioned judgment; “unqualified municipal managers become tools for the politicians.”
Despite these real concerns, it is important to note that there is a predominance of hard working and skilled people in the municipality with integrity, who are also pushing back against these political forces. We need to work together and show our collective resolve to uphold transparency, competence and good governance.
We have written to MEC Bredell to exercise his powers as MEC for Local Government and requested that he take the necessary steps to enforce the law against these people as he did recently in Knysna. His powers and duties include taking the council decisions on review and having them set aside. Therefore, we have provided him with as much relevant information as we have been able to glean in the hope that he will take action.
We will keep you informed and report back as events unfold.
Kind regards,
Steve Pattinson
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