Parties livid as municipal manager out on bail for corruption lands cushy job at Amathole municipality

As the former Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality manager Nokuthula Zondani faced corruption charges in court last month, neighbouring Amathole District Municipality allegedly finalised her appointment as a director, breaching local government rules.

Zondani was arrested by the Hawks on 23 August and appeared in the Queenstown Magistrate’s Court where she was granted R5 000 bail.

She appeared again on Tuesday in the East London Regional Court. The case was postponed to next month, according to Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela.

‘Rushed appointment’

Sources at Amathole say her name was rushed through for consideration on 17 August as director of community services, while most councillors attended training.

ALSO READ: Multi-million rand restraining order on Amathole officials declared permanent

A training session by the Department of Cooperative Governance (Cogta) took place on the same day, and many only saw the emailed documents the following day on Friday, said one insider.

“There was also an oversight visit to Ngqushwa Local Municipality on the same day while her name was forwarded to council.

“We questioned why the day was so packed with activities, it turned out that even the municipal manager did not know about this.

“Zondani has been the director for almost a month now, having ran away from her corrupt deeds at Enoch Mgijima,” said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

Tender fraud

The 52-year-old is alleged to have doubled the tender prices in 2019 while at Enoch Mgijima without consulting the council, as required by the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA).

The initial tender for “yellow fleet” machinery was priced at R1.2 million a month for a period of three years, but Zondani is alleged to have solely increased it to a monthly R2.4 million.

This led to the corruption-ridden municipality incurring wasteful and irregular expenditure.

Amathole spokesperson Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso said Zondani did not have pending criminal cases against her when she was appointed.

She said the former municipal manager started work on 1 August, but the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said rumours that Zondani was bound for a directorship post at Amathole emerged on the day her bail in court made the news.

‘She must go’

DA and EFF councillors in Amathole said not many people in council knew about the appointment because it was done quietly.

EFF regional leader Siphiwo Mavuso directed The Citizen to Amathole EFF statement issued on 23 August in which the party welcomed her arrest, condemning corruption.

The statement further notes that it was rumoured that Zondani would take a director post at Amathole, saying it would be “immoral” for the council to do so.

Mavuso accused Madikizela-Vuso of lying about Zondani’s exact appointment.

“The Amathole spokesperson is lying. It was well known in Amathole that Zondani was on her way after she was granted bail.

“The illegal appointment of Zondani was made towards the end of August, she must go.

“We are going to write to the MEC to make sure the decision is reversed. We cannot allow a corrupt individual to shoulder that responsibility,” said Mavuso.

He accused the ANC of running Eastern Cape municipalities through factions.

“Their intention is to continue looting public funds to fund next year’s elections. They do not have money.”

DA caucus head Jean Lombard said Zondani’s appointment was “hushed and rammed through” in the last two weeks of August.

“The DA caucus is deeply concerned about the unacceptable manner in which Amathole is conducting its business and how important matters are brought to the council, especially in terms of recent appointments of senior managers.

“We also had no sight of any psychometric reports on these appointees or whether they declared anything or not in their applications.

“The DA will definitely be taking the appointment of Nokuthula Zondani further in the light of the fact that the appointee is currently out on bail,” Lombard said.

Violation of managers’ employment rules

The Municipal Systems Act warns councils about officials who leave one municipality for another before being sanctioned for misconduct.

“Research has shown that local government is typified by a growing trend of municipal staff who were dismissed for misconduct but took up employment in other municipalities without restraint/effective deterrent, or who resigned before finalisation of disciplinary proceedings against them to avoid sanction or the consequences of their actions.

“Municipalities must also maintain a detailed record of staff members dismissed for misconduct and staff members who resigned prior to the finalisation of any disciplinary proceedings. This record must be submitted within 14 days of such dismissal or resignation to the MEC and to the Minister,” the Act stipulates.

ALSO READ: City of Joburg council feasts on our dime

Furthermore, a municipality must satisfy itself that the candidate has been comprehensively screened and does not appear on the record of officials facing sanctions.

Verification of qualifications and criminal reference checks must be conducted through relevant authorities before appointment.

Madikizela-Vuso did’nt comment on whether background checks were conducted before Zondani was hired.

MEC must act

Eastern Cape activist organisation Equality Collective condemned the appointment of Zondani. It also pointed to the recent appointment of CFO Lubabalo Manjingolo, who is facing fraud and corruption charges.

The case dates back to 2017 when he was CFO at Mnquma Local Municipality.

“Appointing people into senior roles who have outstanding fraud indictments fails to account that they may be guilty and act dishonestly in their new position.

“It also sends a signal to the public that acting honestly does not matter at Amathole.

“We call on Cogta MEC [Zolile] Williams to investigate and take decisive action in respect of Ms. Zondani’s appointment.

“We also call on the Amathole council to act within the ambit of the law and appoint people who meet the criteria stipulated in the local government regulations,” said spokesperson Zoë Postman.

According to Madikizela-Vuso, Manjingolo’s matter is being attended to by Cogta MEC Williams and Amathole Mayor Anele Ntsangani.

The rot runs deep

The municipalities are just two of many councils marred by corruption scandals and mismanagement in the Eastern Cape.

READ MORE: ‘Graft not out of the average’: Eastern Cape strives to overcome neglect

Enoch Mgijima, which owes Eskom R400 million in unpaid debt, came under fire two years ago when they unveiled a sports pitch with two grandstands said to have cost R15 million.

Zondani was the municipal manager at the time.

Parliament’s Cogta committee directed an investigation into the sports facility, citing concerns over “the disproportion between the amount spent” and what was actually unveiled.

Enoch Mgijima has been under national administration since April last year.

In May, the Makhanda High Court confirmed a restraining order worth R165 million against several high-ranking Amathole officials as well as directors of implicated businesses.

The court made a 2019 provisional restraint order permanent, effectively freezing assets to recoup the funds.

The Hawks’ investigation traced over R149 million in public funds that had been redirected to various personal bank accounts.

Millions were also spent on a string of luxuries including a R16 million house purchased by a director of Siyenza Group, using funds meant for the construction of pit toilets.

Siyenza received a R631m tender for the sanitation project.