Durban — EThekwini Municipality lawyer Malusi Mhlongo has defended the city’s employment of Musa Mbhele as the city manager while there was pending disciplinary action against him.
In a media briefing yesterday, Mhlongo said it was not illegal for one to be employed while there was pending disciplinary action against him or her, adding that when the panel asked an interviewee whether there was any pending case or disciplinary action him or her, it was just for the assessment of a risk the new employer may be exposing itself to when it employed that particular individual.
The report, which was compiled by the City’s investigating arm, City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) in 2019, found Mbhele guilty of contravening the financial policies of the City, including the Municipal Public Finance Management Act (MPFMA), but the City failed to answer why the disciplinary action never took place. Mhlongo said he did not know why the recommendations were not acted upon, but said he believed it was because the former city manager who was supposed to act was on his way out.
On the other hand, City mayor Mxolisi Kaunda’s spokesperson Mluleki Mntungwa refused to answer directly when the mayor knew about the report.
Mhlongo further stated that since the City did not give a person a report or findings about him or her after the investigation, Mbhele was not aware that there was a pending disciplinary action.
“Regarding the issue of the legality of the city manager’s employment, there is no law that is broken when a person with a pending matter is employed. It is for assessing the risk only. Mbhele had not been given the report, so when he said there were no pending issues during the interview there was no misrepresentation, and that was confirmed by the CIIU,” said Mhlongo.
He also maintained that there was no case against Mbhele, adding that the City only reported the matter to the police because the whistle-blower had admitted that there was a corrupt relationship between himself, Mbhele, and Sithembiso Sibiya. When pressed on the content of the affidavit that mentioned the three of them, Mhlongo said it referred to whistle-blower Alex Jwara’s own admission of his corrupt relationships with the two but still maintained that that did not mean there was a case against Mbhele.
Mhlongo added that Mbhele complied with the investigators and gave them statements that proved that he had used R1.2 million to renovate his house.
Furthermore, Mhlongo said the report in question was incomplete since the CIIU had said there was information that needed to be added.
On the issue of whether Speaker Thabani Nyawose lied to the council, he still maintained that there was no case against the city manager. However, he confirmed that there was a notice of motion against him that would be debated by the council at the end of the month.
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News