Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
With reference to point 3(1) in the Minister’s response to question 3 of 5 February 2021: “An investigation was conducted by an independent investigator who found no evidence of misconduct on the part of the ‘former Director’.”
- Whether this certain person, whose name has been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, is no longer a Director in the Stellenbosch Municipality; if so;
- whether he resigned, retired, was dismissed or left the Municipality for another reason;
- if he left the Municipality for another reason, why is he being referred to as a “former Director”;
- if he is no longer employed by the Stellenbosch Municipality, whether the Minister is aware of his employment by any other Western Cape municipality; if so, where;
The Minister replied that a certain other person, whose name has been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, is still employed by the Municipality but has been transferred from the post to another “for which she did qualify”. This confirms that she was not qualified for the position in which she was initially appointed:
- (a) why is this certain other person, whose name has been furnished to his
Department for the purpose of his reply, being given special treatment, (b) how is this certain other person related to an Alderwomen, whose name has been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, and
(c) how is this certain other person related to a person, whose name has
been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, who is
also related to this case;
At a special meeting of the municipal council it was highlighted that two staff members of the Human Resource Department, whose names have been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, who had been present in this interview, did not understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to the recruitment of staff:
- (a) what are the qualifications of these two staff members, (b) why does a senior manager and a HR professional not understand HR processes, employment equity and a fair recruitment processes and (c) why did the municipal council resolve that this did not amount to misconduct or incapacity and did not proceed with disciplinary processes;
- (a) what allegations did a certain councillor, whose name has been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, make during this special council meeting with regard to this matter and (b) can he a copy, record or minutes of these allegations be provided?
The following information was received from the Stellenbosch Municipality:
- Yes, the person is no longer employed at the Municipality.
- The person left the employ of the Municipality in 2018, after a settlement agreement had been reached between the person and the Municipality. He had terminated his contract earlier than the period stipulated in the contract term and was paid in lieu of notice for the notice period.
- It is factually correct to refer to the person as the “former Director” as he was previously the incumbent in the post.
- He is currently engaged in the private sector.
- (a) Pursuant to the settlement of the matter through the Labour Court, the
person was treated in accordance with the provisions of the Labour
Relations Act, 66 of 1995. This included a reduction of her salary in line with the grading of the post she was transferred to.
(b) To the Municipality’s knowledge the two persons are not familial relations.
(c) To the Municipality’s knowledge the two persons are not familial relations.
- (a) Both persons are no longer employed at the Municipality however their
respective qualification are a National Diploma and a Masters Degree.
(b) The reference to “did not understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to the recruitment of staff” was said in the context of shortcomings that had been identified in relation to the process to be followed in appointments where the Employment Equity Targets are not met. To address this, the Municipality’s System of Delegations was subsequently amended to make provision for only the Municipal Manager to make such appointments.
(c) As contained in the previous reply on this matter, an investigation conducted by an independent investigator in terms of the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers found no evidence of misconduct on the part of the former Director. The second official was only coordinating the process.
(7)(a) & (b) The matter was dealt with during an in-camera meeting and my response cannot circumvent the provisions applicable to such meetings. It is however, required that allegations against staff made during meetings of Council or its Committee’s must be substantiated whereafter such allegations are then dealt with in terms of the provisions of either the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers or the collective agreement applicable to all other staff. In this instance the allegations referred to were investigated, as set out in my previous reply on this matter.
