The move by Mangaung executive mayor Mxolisi Sionzana to forcefully remove former acting city manager Mzingisi Nkungwana from office may come under scrutiny when council meets next week.
Mangaung speaker Stefani Lockman-Naidoo told The Free Stater that she had planned to put the matter on the agenda for the council sitting on April 28, but with the appointment of an interim management team this week, she may need guidance on how to proceed.
“We will have to take guidance from the intervention team on that. At this stage we don’t have any information about what will happen,” said Lockman-Naidoo in a brief interview.
“Remember this matter is still in court. The mayor took it to court. The court outcome will make it a bit more clearer,” she added.
“There are conflicting views on whether council was right to appoint him beyond his contract or not.”
The speaker wrote to Siyonzana on April 18, 2022 stating that Nkungwana had lodged a complaint with her about the harassment he was allegedly suffering at the hands of the mayor who wanted him to vacate the office of the acting city manager before the end of his contract.
In the letter, Lockman-Naidoo indicated that she would be taking the matter to council as she felt the mayor had acted out of line.
“. . . it is evident that you have adopted a view that the resolution adopted on 22 February 2022, and in which you participated, extended Mr Nkungwana’s fixed term contract with the municipality which contract lapsed automatically on 31 March 2022,” she told the mayor.
“You are most aware of the role of council and the status of the resolutions it takes.
“You are further aware of the internal processes that any councilor is entitled to take in the event that the said councilor is not satisfied with a particular resolution.
“These processes and proceedings are codified in the standing rules.
“As you know, a council resolution remains valid and binding until it is set aside by court.
“This position includes and covers the resolution under discussion.”
Nkungwana complained to the speaker that the mayor called security officers to forcefully remove him from his office and issued letters to him and his lawyers that he should not come to work.
And on April 14, 2022, the mayor purported to dismiss him by demanding that he returns all the equipment he has in his possession that belongs to the municipality.
“It is apparent, with regret, that you appear to have disregarded the council and its processes when you approached the court without first raising your concerns/issues with the same council that ought to have been approached in accordance with its internal rules and legislative provisions,” continued the speaker in the letter.
Lockman-Naidoo said the council meeting would certainly go ahead as planned by the items on the agenda may need to be finalised.
“Yes, it is a scheduled council meeting and it should go ahead as planned,” she told The Free Stater.
“If it (the matter) becomes part of the agenda, it will be discussed.
“Remember, I had committed in the letter that I will bring it to council . . . so I have to honour that commitment because it’s only the council that can decide the fate of a city manager.
“The council appointed the acting city manager, remember. So, they are the body that must decide the fate of any acting (or substantive) senior manager for that matter.”
Nkungwana was physically ejected from office by the head of the yet-to-be-established Mangaung Metro Police, Israel Kgamanyane, and his team this week on the instruction of Siyonzana who claimed Nkungwana ceased to be a municipal employee at the expiry of his contract as the head of social services on March 31, 2022 and could therefore not continue as acting city manager.
The mayor argued in letters he sent to Nkungwana and court papers that his appointment as acting city manager was an illegal extension of his contract.
This was sharply disputed by Nkungwana – who was appointed acting city manager by council on February 22, 2022 on a three-month contract set to end in May – saying his latest appointment could only be revoked by council and not the mayor acting alone.
In a two-sentence letter dated April 14, 2022 and addressed to Kgamanyane, Siyonzana wrote: “You are requested to assist Mr Mzingisi Nkungwana to comply with the contents of the letter written to him on the 14th of April 2022. We hope you will deliver the request with honour.”
Nkungwana is however now out of the municipality after an interim management team took over the running of the municipality starting this Thursday.
The administration team, which was announced by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Wednesday, will be led by Tebogo Motlashuping as the acting city manager. – Staff Reporter