Part 8: Municipal manager finally speaks out

Suspended municipal manager, Errol Mswane, was contacted regarding his failure to act on the forensic report.

June 12, 2019

Newcastle Advertiser 2 minutes read

He declined to comment on the actual content of the report because of its sensitive nature and the fact that it hasn’t been tabled before the council.

However, he recalled having been told to resign following a meeting he had with a senior ANC political office bearer, where he discussed his frustration about being stopped from tabling the report in council.

This is also detailed in his Labour Court affidavits where he is applying for an
Independent Arbitrator to chair his disciplinary enquiry.

“In October, I was summoned by the ANC officials in the region, where the then mayor, speaker and the chief whip were also in attendance, and was asked to resign because of the two articles that appeared in the Newcastle Advertiser detailing the financial crisis of the municipality and how I intended to turn the situation around. I was further told that it was wrong for me to have met the ANC official in the province without their knowledge.

I refused to resign because I thought it wasn’t the right thing to do. I knew they were going to drum up charges against me after they warned that things would be found against me if I did not opt for a resignation. One of the councillors actually told me before allegations were submitted, that he was put under pressure to do so,” said Mr Mswane.

Court documents, pertaining to Mr Mswane’s disciplinary matter, make mention that he has entered the forensic report in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act, an act
that protects employees who expose serious wrongdoing in the workplace.

Mr Mswane explained that he was reluctant to speak out after a previous statement attributed to him in the media, as well as the affidavit he submitted to court, were being raised in his disciplinary. He is concerned about the fairness of his disciplinary.