The beleaguered Umkhanyakude district municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is facing the heat again following the alleged irregular appointment of an acting municipal manager.
Dr Siyabonga Ntuli, who resigned from Mtubatuba in 2014 under a cloud of controversy after he was implicated in corruption allegations, was appointed earlier this month by the newly elected council in Umkhanyakude following the ousting of mayor Siphile Mdaka.
Now Ntuli’s appointment as chief operations officer (COO) in Umkhanyakude — a position which is not equivalent to the post of a municipal manager — has been deemed irregular, according to a highly placed municipal insider.
According to the Municipal Systems Act, a person cannot act in a position higher than their current post.
In July, auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke instructed KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi to intervene in the trouble-torn Umkhanyakude district municipality.
In the correspondence, Maluleke highlighted that “the failure of the municipality to implement the municipality’s credit and debt collection policy for a number of years and to take reasonable steps to recover outstanding debt from consumers is likely to result in a material financial loss for the municipality”.
Buthelezi, an IFP deployee in the provincial legislature, and ANC-led uMkhanyakude officials are at loggerheads over the provincial cabinet’s decision to place the council under administration.
uMkhanyakude officials are resisting the decision, saying it is politically motivated.
Mdaka, an ANC member, was removed on October 3 through a vote of no confidence by the IFP-led coalition and was replaced by Comfort Khumalo.
After Mdaka’s ousting, KwaZulu-Natal ANC spokesperson Fanle Sibisi said the IFP’s conduct raises serious questions about whether the party remains committed to the government of provincial unity or whether it has chosen to secretly pursue alternative political arrangements at the expense of stability and unity in the province.
ANC-led council officials recently barred Buthelezi from entering the council offices when he placed the municipality under administration and visited the offices to introduce an administrator, Bamba Ndwandwe.
Provincial Cogta department spokesperson Senzelwe Mzila declined to comment on the acting municipal manager’s appointment and referred all the queries to Umkhanyakude mayor Khumalo.
He said Cogta had not been officially notified that Ntuli is now the Umkhanyakude acting municipal manager.
Attempts to obtain comment from Khumalo was unsuccessful as he complained about a “bad network” and then later didn’t answer his phone. He also didn’t respond to messages sent to him.
Newly appointed council speaker Pat Madlopha, who replaced Solomon Mkhombo, also refused to comment and referred queries to Khumalo.
“Please contact the mayor because I am not the spokesman of the council,” he said.
Attempts to obtain comment from Ntuli also drew a blank as his phone was on voicemail and he did not respond to a WhatsApp message sent to him.
Ntuli is no stranger to controversy following his suspension in 2014 due to corruption allegations.
Despite his previous suspension Mtubatuba re-hired him as an acting municipal manager under a new council leadership.
Mtubatuba is one of the four local municipalities under Umkhanyakude.
Meanwhile, veteran administrator Ndwandwe has been appointed as technical expert at Umkhanyakude.
Ndwandwe said his job is mainly to help the council improve its financial standing.
“I have no doubt that with the vast experience I have, I will help Umkhanyakude,” he said.
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