DURBAN - THE ETHEKWINI Municipality could have a new city manager by June as the recruitment process to fill the vacancy gains momentum.
The recruitment process is heading towards finalisation, with the possible candidates set to be interviewed next month.
The candidates are to be interviewed by a panel that includes the mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, and other local government experts between March 5 and 7, according to a status report on the matter which was tabled before the executive committee yesterday.
The sought-after position was advertised in December, and attracted a whopping 294 applicants. The short-listing was completed on February 4.
Should the interview process find the ideal candidate, that candidate could be recommended to the council for appointment by the end of March.
There have been several internal candidates linked to the top job, among them Sipho Cele, who stated in the past that he would be applying for the position when it became available, and the current acting city manager, Musa Mbhele.
The municipality has been without a full-time city manager for almost a year following the premature end of Sipho Nzuza’s term. Nzuza’s term ended after a barrage of allegations of corruption which led to him being criminally charged. The allegations are linked to a R300 million tender fraud case involving former mayor Zandile Gumede and several other city officials.
The absence of a full-time city manager was one of the concerns raised by the city’s external audit committee yesterday. The committee said it was important for the city to have a full-time manager to ensure stability.
A report tabled at the executive committee revealed that the screening process had been finalised and processes conducted in respect of the shortlisted candidates.
It said the recruitment panel was busy with reference checks, contacting the candidates’ current or previous employers to determine the validity of their qualifications, and verifying whether any had been dismissed previously for misconduct or poor performance.
“The regulations require the selection panel to conduct interviews within one day of the screening of candidates. The interviews are scheduled for March 5, 6 and 7,” said the report.
DA councillor Thabani Mthethwa said it was important for the entire council to own the process of appointing a new city manager, and proposed that the executive committee should take part in the interviewing process.
“We call for a process where all the members of the executive committee sit on the panel, because the current instability has taught us we need someone that we all can be confident will do right by the municipality and follow the law and will not bend to political pressure from politicians,” he said.
THE MERCURY