ADVERTISEMENT:

 

 
 

Hush-hush appointment of new municipal manager

Date: 02 December 2017 By: Andries van Zyl

A new municipal manager has been appointed for the Makhado Municipality, albeit already from 1 November with few people knowing about it. An official announcement to this effect will apparently be made on Friday, 2 December.

The Zoutpansberger picked up on the proposed appointment of a new municipal manager in the minutes of the municipality’s 126th Urgent Council Meeting held on 13 October 2017. During this meeting the appointment of Mr Nnyadzeni Freddy Tshivhengwa was approved.

Upon enquiry, municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Mr Tshivhengwa. Asked why this appointment was not publicly announced, Bobodi said: “The new municipal manager has been appointed and will be officially announced on Friday, and as is normal practice he will be introduced to the media next week.” Bobodi could not say why this announcement only follows a month after Mr Tshivhengwa’s appointment.

The history of Makhado’s municipal managers has at best been a controversial one. Former municipal manager Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali became the third municipal manager to part ways with the municipality under controversial circumstances. Similar to the way in which former municipal managers Ms Faith Muthambi and current Vhembe District Municipality municipal manager Mr Reuben Rambado’s employment ended at the Makhado Municipality, Mutshinyali was also charged with mismanagement and corruption and subsequently suspended, only for the municipality to later reach a settlement agreement with them.

Mutshinyali effectively resigned on 1 June 2017, after Council resolved to part ways with Mutshinyali at a special meeting on 31 May this year. His settlement amount totalled R1 389 571. As for the terms of the settlement, the resolution states that the disciplinary hearing against the municipal manager must be discontinued with immediate effect and that both parties undertake not to institute civil litigation against each other on the matters that are subject to the disciplinary hearing.

In the August 2017 Council minutes, it is stated that the investigation into the allegations of misconduct against Mutshinyali cost the municipality R1 561 621. This was paid to Greentime Management Consulting (Pty) Ltd. Council had to approve this expenditure, as it was not done in accordance to standard procurement processes.

 
 
 

Viewed: 1780

 

 
 

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

 
 

More photos... 

ADVERTISEMENT

 
 

ADVERTISEMENT:

 
 

ADVERTISEMENT