DURBAN - THE Labour Court is expected to hand down judgment on the validity of the uMkhanyakude municipal manager’s suspension.
The council sought a court order from the court to prevent Mxolisi Nkosi, the manager, from entering the municipality premises to continue with his work. Both parties were in court in Durban on Friday, but the judgment was reserved.
Nkosi ignored the suspension, saying it was illegal. The council had sat on August 26, where a decision was taken to place the municipal manager on suspension. Nkosi said the meeting sat illegally because the councillor that helped the council to get a quorum was no longer a councillor since he had been dismissed from his job for more than a week before the meeting.
Nkosi told the Daily News on Tuesday that the court would deliver the judgment on Thursday, and he was adamant that it would rule in his favour. He said by allowing the dismissed councillor to form a quorum showed how desperate the administrator was to remove him as municipal manager.
According to the Independent Electoral Commission letter dated August 17, which the Daily News has seen, the dismissed councillor’s position was declared vacant, and a new councillor was appointed.
The former councillor attended the meeting instead of the newly appointed councillor. Nkosi said he is continuing with his work because no one has the right to fire him except those attending a full council meeting.
“As I speak to you, I am doing my work as manager. People are desperate to get me out here, so they resorted to illegal means. The money they used to go to court should be treated as wasteful expenditure because the council had been informed about the dismissed councillor but decided to use him to get quorum,” said Nkosi.
The uMkhanyakude District Municipality is located along the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. It shares its borders with Swaziland and Mozambique, as well as with the districts of Zululand and King Cetshwayo.
Inkatha Freedom Party caucus leader Makhosini Sithole said his party still recognises Nkosi as the municipal manager. He said his party was not part of the meeting.
Daily News