The eThekwini municipality has insisted it followed all necessary processes in the appointment of three candidates to senior positions, dismissing as “political posturing” the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) urgent interdict blocking the move.
The city announced the executive director appointments of Lindokuhle Mkhize for operations management, Ednick Msweli for technical services and Bheki Mkhize for public safety on November 17.
Msweli and Lindokuhle Mkhize, both internal employees, have already commenced their duties while Bheki Mkhize is serving his notice period and will start at the beginning of January.
However, the DA turned to the court for an urgent interdict to halt the appointments on Tuesday, citing procedural irregularities.
“The urgent interdict seeks to prevent the municipality from appointing unsuitable and unqualified staff to senior positions in the city,” said DA provincial communications manager Zowakha Mbatha in a statement.
“For far too long, the eThekwini municipality has filled key positions with ineffective and unqualified individuals, contributing directly to massive service delivery failures.”
The party’s mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen doubled down on the party’s opposition to these appointments during a media briefing on Thursday.
He likened them to the alleged irregular senior appointments in Ekurhuleni that have emerged during testimonies in the Madlanga commission.
“A few days ago, the Madlanga commission heard shocking testimony of how the former municipal manager of Ekurhuleni metro cut corners and ignored legislated processes in the irregular appointment of the chief of police,” Hoosen said.
“Closer to home, right here in our own city, we have a similar situation brewing regarding the irregular appointment of the new head of public safety. The difference here is that we as the DA are doing everything possible to prevent a similar situation from occurring, even before it happens.”
He argued that the recruitment process failed to meet several regulated requirements, including completing shortlisting within 30 days.
“These deadlines were missed by months.”
He further claimed that mandatory competency tests were withheld from councillors and that Bheki Mkhize did not possess the required qualifications.
Every other political party voted in support of rewarding Mr Msweli with a higher-paying job for his failures.
— Haniff Hoosen, DA mayoral candidate
Hoosen also argued that Msweli had failed in his previous role, pointing to the declining state of water and sanitation as evidence of poor leadership. He cited leaking infrastructure, high levels of non-revenue water, sewer pollution and adverse findings from the auditor-general.
“Yet the city now sees it fit to appoint the very same person, Mr Ednick Msweli, to an even more senior position with an even higher salary.”
He noted the DA was the only party in council to oppose the appointments.
“Every other political party voted in support of rewarding Mr Msweli with a higher-paying job for his failures.”
Hoosen said the court challenge forms part of the DA’s preparation to govern eThekwini after next year’s local government elections.
“The DA is not going to sit back and watch our city being destroyed. It is simply incomprehensible that a reasonable person will reward a staff member with a more senior position and a higher salary given his dismal track record.”
Meanwhile, the city hit back at the DA in its own briefing on Thursday.
Mayor Cyril Xaba confirmed the looming legal battle but said the city was confident in the legitimacy of the appointments.
“Since the matter is now before the courts, our full position will be presented there. However, I must state that we firmly believe all due processes were followed, which is why council deemed it appropriate to approve the appointments.”
He said the positions had been vacant for an extended period, undermining administrative stability.
“We view this action by the DA as yet another attempt to destabilise the municipality and hinder its ability to build adequate capacity to deliver essential services to our residents. As law-abiding citizens, we will respect and fully cooperate with all court processes until the matter is resolved.”
Explaining the appointments, Xaba said Bheki Mkhize will be coming back to a position not dissimilar to his role when he was eThekwini’s deputy city manager.
“When his term expired, he looked for greener pastures elsewhere and he’s now coming back to the same position. It may have some more functions added to it, but in essence it’s the same position,” he said.
“We will present our case in court, but he’s competent, and I believe he has what the city needs to perform to the best of its ability.”
Nkosenhle Madlala, chairperson of the governance and human capital committee, added that Msweli, as the city’s former head of water services with years of experience and a background at uMngeni Water, met “all the necessary requirements and qualifications to be in the position”.
He described Lindokuhle Mkhize as a “phenomenon” who has hit the ground running in pushing projects that are timely and within budget.
“We have very stringent recruitment and selection criteria. I want to assure you, there are no gaps there so we’re confident this case is going to be exposed for what it is,” he said.
Malusi Mhlongo, eThekwini’s head of legal and compliance, argued the interdict had already been overtaken by events past.
“In an interdict you want the court to prevent something from happening. You may go to court to interdict the demolition of a building, for example, but if the building is already down then the application becomes academic,” he said.
“The executive directors signed their letters of appointment on 17 November, and the two who are internal commenced duties on 17 July. So the building has collapsed.”
Mhlongo added that the municipality had been given minimal time to respond.
“We were only served with these papers on Tuesday and we’re supposed to deliver our answering papers on Friday. We had to appoint lawyers on an urgent basis because the matter is supposed to be heard on the 10th.”
He said the city was confident in its case.
“We’re pretty sure, especially as far as the interdict is concerned, that we’re going to put up a convincing argument for the court to see through what this application really is.”
Xaba confirmed that Msweli and Mkhize are continuing with their normal duties and the city is seeking a concurrence from the KwaZulu-Natal department of cooperative governance.
“For us there is no concern, in fact I don’t think there’s a case. I think it’s politicking on the part of the DA,” he said.
“We will debate in court, but we don’t think that they have a case.”
He added they don’t believe the matter is urgent and confirmed they would be opposing the urgency of the interdict, arguing the matter must go through the normal court roll.
Ish Prahladh, eThekwini Ratepayers and Residents Association (Erra) president, said they always fought for competent people to run the municipality.
“We do not engage in politics, that is not our cause. We are here to make sure our ratepayers and residents get proper service delivery for their hard-earned money.
“Erra believes that if there is a competent individual we will fully support him or her,” he said.
The urgent interdict is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, December 10.
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