Mayor, MM ordered to act
The Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, recently ordered the Merafong mayor and municipal manager to act against a top employee after discovering that she was appointed to her position irregularly.
Adele Louw
The Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, recently ordered the Merafong Local Municipality’s mayor and municipal manager to act against a top employee after discovering that she was appointed to her position irregularly.
According to the Public Protector’s investigative report released on 29 September, the municipality’s current human resources manager, Ms Nonceba Mbilini, was hired to the position of training officer without a matric certificate in 2011 and was promoted to human resources manager in October 2022, without meeting the requirements. Although an applicant needed a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent qualification for the managerial position, Mbilini only has a National Diploma in administrative management from Unisa.
The Public Protector investigated the matter after receiving a complaint on the day of Mbilini’s appointment as human resources manager.
The Public Protector had asked Mbilini, the mayor, Ms Nozuko Best, and the municipal manager to make submissions in response to the allegations and findings.
Only Mbilini and the municipality’s former acting MM, Mr Lerato Peu, responded.
Mbilini told the Public Protector she was supposed to widen the scope of her investigations to include previous municipal management appointments instead of focusing on hers alone. Mbilini added that she believed her qualifications were the equivalent of those needed for both positions.
The current MM, Mr Dumisani Mabuza, said the municipality had already appointed a competent law firm to provide opinions on possible irregular appointments.
The public protector also ordered the municipality to ensure that all officials participating in recruitment and selection processes were trained on the municipality’s policy.
