Municipal manager merely on special leave, not suspended

Date: 21 November 2016 By: Andries van Zyl

The Makhado Municipality said this week that they were feeling very uneasy with the continuous statements that Makhado municipal manager Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali had been suspended, while in fact Council had merely put him on special leave.

Mutshinyali was placed on special leave following a closed special Council meeting on 27 October. During this meeting a report, containing serious allegations of misconduct against Mutshinyali as municipal manager, was tabled by newly appointed Makhado mayor, Cllr Mildred Sinyosi. The allegations levied against Mutshinyali included illegally claiming and accepting payments for assistance in two relocations when he took up his position as municipal manager; illegally claiming for two cellphone lines; failing to implement financial delegations within the municipality; the irregular appointment of a contractor to install energy-saving infrastructure without following the correct procedures; taking leave from work without providing valid reasons; authorising a payment of more than R400 000 to a contractor without Council’s approval; the irregular appointment of various service providers; failing to disclose to Council that he had been subpoenaed to provide documentation to the police’s special investigation unit in cases that include fraud and corruption; and paying R4.6 million to a legal firm without Council’s approval.

Due to the seriousness of the allegations, Sinyosi indicated in her report that Mutshinyali might be suspended as a precautionary measure, but that this could not be done as Mutshinyali, by law, had to be given seven days’ notice of Council’s intention to suspend him, during which time he would be given the opportunity to furnish Council with reasons why he should not be suspended. Following procedure, Council resolved to give Mutshinyali seven days’ notice of their intention to suspend him and place him on special leave.

As part of the process, Council also had to reconvene within the seven days after serving Mutshinyali with their notice to suspend him to consider his written submission, if any.

Council did indeed reconvene on 8 November, but no decision was taken on whether or not to suspend Mutshinyali. Instead, Council merely extended his special leave. “The Makhado municipal council has extended the special leave of the municipal manager, which was already granted for seven days, for a further 30 days, pending further clarification and legal inputs on the matter. Council has also appointed Mr Johannes Kanwendo as acting municipal manager during the 30 days special leave period while the municipal manager is on special leave,” said municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi in a press release on Monday.

News that Mutshinyali had not been suspended but his special leave merely extended after the 8 November special council meeting, sparked speculation on whether or not Council did indeed have a strong case against Mutshinyali. This speculation was further fuelled by rumours that, during this same meeting, all charges against Mutshinyali were provisionally withdrawn.

The Zoutpansberger asked the municipality to confirm whether or not the charges against Mutshinyali had been provisionally withdrawn and if so, why he was not allowed back into office.

In response, Mr N C Kharidzha, director of corporate services, said on Wednesday that Council had not resolved to withdraw the allegations of serious misconduct against the municipal manager. “Council provisionally withdrew the report regarding the consideration of the suspension of the municipal manager and the appointment of an investigator,” Kharidzha said.

As for the reason why Council had provisionally withdrawn the report, Kharidzha said that it was to allow them time to get clarity on the legislative inputs required in processing the intricate legal procedures for disciplinary processes against senior managers. “The only condition for the 30 days special leave granted to the municipal manager is that he should not interfere with the running of the municipality during the period of his absence from the office,” Kharidzha said.

It is thus clear that Council is proceeding with their investigation into the allegations levelled in the report submitted by Mayor Sinyosi. Asked as to how far their investigation into the allegations was and whether or not an independent investigator had been appointed for this purpose, Kharidzha said that no investigator had been appointed yet.

In the meantime, Mutshinyali is sitting at home with full pay, awaiting the outcome of the investigations against him and the decision whether or not Council will suspend him.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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