ALBERTON – The recently released judgement on a case brought against the Ekurhuleni city manager, Khaya Ngema, has resulted in a slew of press releases explaining the position of opposition parties to the public. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) has been tight-lipped with their official position on the results that could cause three years’ administrative and management decisions to be challenged.
READ: City manager’s position threatened
The Gauteng High Court declared in a court order on August 21 that municipal manager, Khaya Ngema’s employment terminated on May 17, 2012 and that the municipal council claimed to extend his “employment relationship” with the municipality. The court further found that the extension of Ngema’s employment was non-compliant with relevant sections of the Municipal Systems Act. The implications of this judgement could potentially result in the review of every decision taken by the city manager since 2012.
READ: EMM on the brink of administrative crisis
The RECORD contacted the EMM Communications and Brand Management Department as well as Zweli Dlamini, the Mayoral spokesperson, to find out whether they could provide clarity on the consequences of the High Court judgement.
Some of the questions that the RECORD put to the EMM were the following:
*Why did the council initially decide to extend the contract of the City Manager in 2012 instead of advertising the position and following the procedure set out in the Municipal Systems Act?
*What administrative, legal and financial implications will occur if the City decides to comply with the High Court judgment?
*What will the implications be if the City does not decide to comply with the judgment?
The EMM issued the following statement in response: “The municipality wishes to emphasise that the matter is being dealt with by the Member of the Executive Council for Local Government and Housing as directed by the court. We also reiterate that the court at no stage declared the City Manager’s contract invalid”.
No comment was received from the Mayoral spokesperson at the time of publication.
