Emfuleni municipality hired ‘unqualified’ admin manager

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has released a statement alleging that the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) hired an administration manager that does not have the required qualifications to do the job.

The party has subsequently called for the replacement of current unqualified admin manager Velile Mkhotwana.

It is alleged Mkhotwana only has a matric certificate, despite the position requiring a bachelor’s degree and five years’ experience in management administration, according to Emfuleni municipal manager Oupa Nkoane.

READ MORE: Bidvest repossesses essential service vehicles from Gauteng municipality

The statement also alleges the position of administration manager at ELM was not advertised, and that Mkhothwana was simply transferred from the office of the speaker of council to the ELM office.

On Wednesday afternoon, the ELM’s fleet of Bidvest vehicles dedicated to emergency services was repossessed. Apparently the municipality defaulted on payments on vehicles leased from Bidvest, and the company decided to repossess them. The vehicles included essential services vehicles, including vehicles belonging to the traffic, fire, water and sanitation and electricity departments, according to ward 5 DA councillor Phillip Nothnagel.

It is not the first time the municipality finds itself in trouble this year. Last month Eskom issued a notice that it intended to start phasing in scheduled power interruptions in municipality after it failed to adhere to an agreement with Eskom regarding its repayment plan. By that time its monthly debt to Eskom had increased by R200 million, and the situation prompted Eskom to cut off power supply from August 6, 2018.

The DA has committed to monitoring the recruitment process “to ensure that proper employment procedures are followed”, the statement concludes.

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