Mike Sutcliffe’s days as eThekwini city manager are numbered. “People want him gone. He is on his way out, it’s just a question of when,” an insider said yesterday. “He could stay on a month-to-month contract, but it is highly unlikely he will be given another five-year contract.”
Senior ANC officials will meet, possibly as early as Tuesday, to discuss the city manager’s post, which will become vacant when Sutcliffe’s contract expires at the end of July.
“I don’t comment on speculation” was all Sutcliffe would say yesterday.
Just months ago Sutcliffe had seemingly fallen out of political favour and looked set to be removed from his post. But ANC insiders told the Tribune he might be given a reprieve – even if just short-term.
There is some division within the party over the matter, with some saying he should be given the boot, and others that he should be retained.
Should he be shown the door, there are questions over who might replace him. Cyril Xaba, an adviser to KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize, has been tipped, but there is also talk that an Oxford University graduate is being groomed for the post.
Speaking to the Tribune, new eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo, who is believed to be close to Sutcliffe, would not give his views.
He said because Sutcliffe was a “political deployee”, the decision would be taken by the ANC’s provincial executive committee in consultation with regional officials.
“It will be proper for me to reserve my comments until a decision has been reached. In the next few weeks we will have to make a decision,” he said.
Contacted for comment, ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala and eThekwini region chairman Stanley Xulu made similar statements.
Newly appointed speaker Logie Naidoo, deputy mayor for the last decade, said discussions were not exclusively about Sutcliffe.
“It’s not just about Mike, but about the whole administration team. We have to look at the city manager and the deputy city managers, especially since some of the clusters have changed a bit.
“We have to ensure the right people are in place so that there is continuity and delivery of services,” he said, adding that the currently vacant deputy city manager of economic development post would be dealt with.
Executive committee member Sbu Gumede said: “We are aware his contract ceases at the end of July, but have not discussed it. It’s not even on the agenda. We will be given guidance by either the region or the province on the matter. We are now concentrating on constituting the new council.”
A well placed ANC source said yesterday, “The view is that we find someone he can teach the ropes until at least October. It’s like that in big corporations when a CEO is leaving. We have also proposed that Mike’s contract be month-to-month.
“However, the decision is for the ANC in the province in consultation with the provincial Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs Department,” the source said.
The Tribune understands that the provincial and national departments are interested in the outcome as the eThekwini Municipality is one of the best run, most financially stable and economically important councils in the country.
Co-operative Government deputy minister Yunus Carrim said, “We don’t have any say in the appointment of municipal managers. But since the metros are so important to the country’s economy, producing 60 percent of the economic output, and their decisions have ramifications far beyond their boundaries, we are obviously interested in the choices they make about municipal managers,” he said.
Professionalism
Co-operative Government MEC Nomusa Dube said her department had no direct involvement in the appointment of municipal managers, and she had not been involved in discussions on Sutcliffe’s future.
“All I know is from what I read in the newspapers. I don’t have any particular views. Our stance has always been that we want to encourage professionalism in all the people responsible for the administration of our municipalities.
Asked whether it was important to find a balance between political appointments and required skills, Dube said: “For us, it’s all about having the right skills in the right positions. We’ve emphasised that in all municipalities, because it’s not just eThekwini where the contracts from municipal managers and their deputies are coming to an end.”
Opposition parties have welcomed the idea of retaining Sutcliffe to ensure there was a “transition period” leading up to the new administration.
DA caucus leader Tex Collins said he would support Sutcliffe staying on for a limited period.
“I think it would be a good idea for him to stay on a month-to-month basis to groom his replacement, perhaps for the next six months. It would be really beneficial to have a transitional period. But if we’re honest, regardless of his competency, Mike has angered a lot of ratepayers with some of the decisions he’s made and it might be prudent for him to leave while he’s ahead. If he’s honest with himself, I think he’ll agree,” Collins said.
Minority Front leader Amichand Rajbansi said, given Sutcliffe’s expertise and the skills required to run a metro like eThekwini, he favoured a transition period.
“They have to find a new municipal manager – who has to be a genius. Mike had all the qualifications for the job and we must not overlook all the good he did.
“His biggest shortcoming was that he failed to stand up to the politicians, for whom he took the rap for many bad decisions. Many of the blunders were the politicians’ and not his own. Since 2006, eThekwini was not run by its elected council but by a clique within the ANC region – and Mike should have stood up to them,” Rajbansi said. - Matthew Savides and Nathi Olifant