Citing the illegality of the appointment from October 15 due to no formal ELM council decision, Cooperative Governance MEC Lebohang Maile announced on Sunday in a shock move the long-divisive Andile Dyakala would not preside over Monday’s crucial council meeting.
ELM’s newly-elected Executive Mayor, Sipho Radebe, should immediately remove Dyakala as his first official act and review his decisions and appointments, said the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC).
Maile also said on Sunday the acting Municipal Manger of the Sedibeng District Municipality was illegally appointed as well.
However, all invitations to ELM council participants – set to elect a new Executive Mayor, Council Speaker and Chief Whip – had already long-since been invited in Dyakala’s name despite the illegality of his appointment.
It also emerged this week that suspended ELM Municipal Manager Lucky Leseane faces a disciplinary hearing on November 30 on a raft of charges whilst the many investigations against Dyakala have resulted in no action against him whatsoever.
The charges against Dyakala include allegations of severe gender abuse against an acting former Executive Mayor.
The GTCoC is demanding Dyakala be removed immediately and that especially his latest controversial move to renew the contracts of at least 37 staffers supporting political office-bearers be rescinded and declared irregular.
The appointments were advertised, withdrawn after protests but were still made by stealth and blatant dishonesty by Dyakala, who was and is himself illegally position as accounting officer, said GTCoC CEO Klippies Kritzinger.
Kritzinger had already demanded Dyakala’s dismissal as acting Municipal Manager – and before that as his permanent appointment as Chief Financial Officer – immediately after it became known Dyakala had been appointed as acting from October 15.
Dyakala was unable to effectively address a crippling power outage in Vanderbijlpark shortly after his appointment, leading to huge business and residential losses.
“Even this appointment, just like the appointment process of the political staffers at huge cost, was also done by stealth by ELM and Dyakala.
“Mayor Radebe now has an opportunity to begin his administration on an ethical basis by doing the right thing and removing Dyakala as both acting Municipal Manager and as CFO before Radebe himself is tainted by an illegal gangster ELM administration,” said Kritzinger.
