DURBAN - ETHEKWINI mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has called for cool heads and assured Durban residents that the process of appointing a new city manager is well on track and is being handled with the sensitivity and care it deserves.
Speaking at the executive committee (exco) meeting on Tuesday, Kaunda said he had received correspondence from DA caucus leader Nicole Graham, who alleged political interference in the interview process leading up to the appointment of the next city manager.
The mayor has reiterated that the ANC has no role in the appointment of city managers, adding that the only time the governing party ever gets involved in the filling of municipal positions is when it comes to the appointment of mayors, deputy mayors, speakers and ordinary councillors.
“As things stand, the panel has not yet concluded the process. Therefore, we would like to urge everyone to respect the process which is being conducted by a legitimate panel. After all the processes have unfolded, a report will be presented to the executive committee for its consideration,” said Kaunda. He said the report would demonstrate that there was no political interference from the ANC leadership.
EFF exco member Thabane Miya said the allegations raised a lot of suspicions and that if these were true, it would bring into question the legitimacy of the process. “We have always maintained that politicians should not be involved in the process and should leave the selection and interviewing of candidates to the professionals,” said Miya.
He said the city needed a politically astute individual, not a politician, as a city manager because turning around the fortunes of the municipality was a massive task. “We need to get clean audits and senior managers who apply themselves to the highest levels of professionalism so that the city can reach the kind of levels that are expected of the municipality of its size,” Miya said.
He suggested that the ANC’s history and policy of cadre deployment was already raising suspicions about the process, but indicated that they would wait for the report.
DA exco member Thabani Mthethwa expressed concern that the process had already been tarnished by allegations of political meddling. “This situation could have been avoided if exco members had been allowed to be part of the interviewing panel,” Mthethwa said.
He suggested that because of its broad representative nature, exco would give credibility to the selection process. “We come from a history of leadership instability at the senior level of the municipality and we do not want to revisit that scene. Mind you, some years ago exco members used to form part of the interviewing panel for senior managers and this ensured transparency and legitimacy,” Mthethwa said. He said they would apply the wait-and-see approach although there were already doubts on the credibility of the process.
The city manager’s position is one of the most sought after. Some of the names that have been suggested as candidates include former Msunduzi municipal manager Mxolisi Nkosi, current Ugu boss Max Mbili and former city manager Sibusiso Sithole.
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