Another City manager bites the dust

Communications chief gets the axe.

UMHLATHUZE Acting Communications Manager, Vukile Mathabela, has become the latest casualty in a string of senior managers exiting the municipality under a shroud of controversy.

Mathabela was served with marching orders last week after being placed on special leave in February, pending the outcome of an investigation into charges of alleged misrepresentation of qualifications.

Appointed as the Chief Communications Officer in 2011, Mathabela was promoted to Acting Communications Manager in 2012, often making comments to the media on behalf of the municipality.

News of his suspension surfaced in April after it was revealed that he did not complete a Public Relations Diploma from the Durban University of Technology and a further charge of fraud was added in May.

In an exclusive interview with the Zululand Observer, Mathabela said he had now approached the Bargaining Council to appeal the dismissal.

‘I am confident I will be cleared,’ said Mathabela.

‘My dismissal is unprocedural as I was not part of the first hearing and was not afforded the right to defend myself.’

‘If Vukile misrepresented his qualification, how was he given the position to act as Communications Manager? And why is this being pursued after so many years? I never said at the time when I was appointed that I had completed the PR Diploma. So there was no misrepresentation,’ Mathabela said.

On the latter charge of fraud, Mathabela said he was being charged for signing a booking form while on special leave.

‘There was no exchange of money and the municipality did not pay a cent. When I was on special leave, I also made comments on behalf of the municipality to the media, but that was not a problem.

‘The booking was to market the City in a government directory.’

Politics

When asked whether political shenanigans had affected his dismissal, Mathabela said he would ‘not rule out politics’.

‘I believe that the municipality flexed its muscle and abused the system. The outcome of my disciplinary proceeding was premeditated. The first hearing continued despite the fact that I had issued a sick note. They did not accept my doctor’s note and wanted an affidavit from the doctor.’

The latest exit of Mathabela comes at the time when the municipality is functioning without its top administration brass and has been grilled for severe under-spending.

The posts of four Deputy Municipal Managers has still not been finalised with acting managers still handling the reins for the next two months.

uMhlathuze Municipal Manager, Dr NJ Sibeko, declined to comment on the matter.

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