Durban — Abaqulusi Local Municipality municipal manager Zwelihle Dlamini could be in hot water for allegedly misleading the council when he treated Mncedisi Maphisa as the mayor although he had already resigned.
According to a letter the Daily News has seen, Maphisa tendered his resignation to the council Speaker on March 17 but at the council meeting on March 28, the municipal manager told the council that Maphisa would chair a finance committee meeting if the status quo had not changed.
In a recorded clip purported to be Dlamini’s voice, he is heard telling the council that despite media reports the status quo has not changed and Maphisa should be referred to as “the worship, the mayor”.
“It is business unusual since there are processes. Also, letters have been exchanged but no formal decision has been taken by the council. That means the status quo remains and nothing has changed,” said the voice.
The voice added that Maphisa would chair the finance committee and that he was on leave but was now back.
In the recording, a person is heard acknowledging letters he had received and passed on to the relevant people, but emphasising that since the last resolution, Maphisa was still the mayor.
Reacting to the news that the manager “misled” the council, DA councillor Swelakhe Shelembe called for the suspension of the manager pending the investigation. He said at that same meeting they raised the issue since they had heard that Maphisa had been removed by his party.
“We are disappointed by the manager’s conduct and we will call for his suspension at the meeting tomorrow (Tuesday). This is a serious transgression when the head of the administration misled the council. So he must be investigated; he must be suspended pending the completion of the investigation.”
Shelembe said in terms of the processes, the manager would have informed the councillors that they did not have a mayor anymore and immediately called for a special meeting to elect the new mayor.
He said even in the letter the mayor made it clear that he resigned with immediate effect. Shelembe also said they needed an explanation of a second resignation letter by the mayor dated March 31.
Dlamini dared Shelembe to take him to court, saying he broke no law when he allowed Maphisa to chair the meeting as the mayor. He said even if he had resigned the resignation matter still needed to go to council and be recorded as a resolution of the council.
Although the letter appeared to be signed on March 7, it only reached his office on March 17 and he had been informed by the speaker that the mayor was on leave, he said. Attempts to get comment from the speaker, Mkhonyovu Khumalo, were unsuccessful but he also tendered his resignation last week.
“You can resign but as long as the council has not sat, you will remain a mayor even if the council sits after three months. As it was the council that elected the mayor, it must be the same council that takes a resolution that you are no longer a mayor,” said Dlamini.
Meanwhile, the council will elect a new mayor and speaker on Tuesday after the resignation of the two.
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Daily News