
An Eastern Cape lawyer who accused several ANC bigwigs of blocking his appointment as a municipal manager of the Makana local municipality has finally lost his lengthy fight for the job.
The Constitutional Court dismissed Paul Notyawa’s application for leave to appeal an earlier Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment on Thursday.
In a unanimous judgment, Justice Chris Jafta found that the municipality in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) has been without a permanent manager since 2015 and that this impacted negatively on service delivery for its residents.
Justice Jafta found that Notyawa can no longer obtain the relief he sought and by law he cannot be appointed Makana municipal manager.
According to the judgment, the municipality has had no less than four acting municipal managers to date despite the law stating that each acting appointment may not exceed six months.
Notyawa, an ANC member, was requested by the party to withdraw his application for the job but he declined leading to his expulsion, which he later successfully appealed.