Makhado municipal manager says she will contest suspension in High Court

 The Makhado municipal manager, Ms Faith Muthambi, has been suspended indefinitely with full pay. Although Council remains tight-lipped over the exact reasons for her suspension, all indications are that it concerns recent allegations against her of irregularities with regard to municipal tenders.

Municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi confirmed on Tuesday that Council’s executive committee (Exco) carried out a mandate from Council to suspend Muthambi during an Exco meeting on Friday, June 27. He said her suspension followed the recommendation of a 36-page report regarding an investigation into the allegations, which include the alleged R2 million overpayment of a contractor and personal friend of Muthambi for a street rehabilitation contract at Waterval. In May this year, Muthambi was forced to take 24 days special leave to allow for an internal investigation into the allegations. As far as could be determined, the investigation was carried out by internal auditors from the office of the Premier. Shortly after Muthambi returned to work after the 24 days, local members of SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers Union) embarked on a strike in protest against her returning to work, demanding that Council suspend her immediately. At the best of times, the relationship between Muthambi and SAMWU has been shaky, a relationship made worse when Muthambi first suspended and then fired a former chairperson of SAMWU, Mr James Sikhwari, earlier this year.

Reacting to the news of her suspension during a telephonic interview on Tuesday afternoon, Muthambi said that she was still waiting to receive official notification of her suspension. She was suspended whilst attending a two-week training course on municipal finance management in Gauteng and is still not back in her office.

“Once I get the letter, I am going straight to the High Court in Pretoria to challenge the legality and irregularity of the whole thing,” she said.

Muthambi was especially critical about the timing and procedure Exco followed in deciding to suspend her.

“In terms of the law, if you want to suspend somebody, you must give that person a notice of intention to suspend and then give them 48 hours to respond. If that person responded and the employer is not happy with the explanation, only then can you suspend. In this case, I have not received any notice of suspension. I have also not received the suspension letter. The mayor is aware of my whereabouts. If indeed she wants to suspend me, she should have recalled me back to my office and handed over the letter so that I could respond,” Muthambi said  

 “But is clear that I am suspended. I heard that they have locked my office doors,” Muthambi added. A visit by the Zoutpansberger to the municipality confirmed this, with the doors to the Exco chambers leading to her office being locked with a padlock and chain.

Muthambi claims that the whole procedure leading up to her suspension is flawed. This includes the initial investigation conducted during her 24 days’ special leave and the subsequent 36-page report.

“None of the officials was interviewed to explain certain things, not even me. My phone was available 24 hours daily since the day I was given special leave.

 “I was expecting to be called, so that I could clarify certain issues – is that not what you do when you are conducting an investigation? You must have both sides of the story. This is a one-sided story in which none of us was interviewed,” Muthambi said. She further stated that, despite officially asking the Makhado mayor, Cllr Glory Mashaba, for a copy of the report, she was never given one. By that time, Muthambi says, everybody knew the contents of the report except her. She did, however, manage to obtain a copy from an Exco member.

Muthambi alleges that no recommendation to suspend her is contained in the report.

“The report only states that ‘corrective measures must be taken against all relevant officials’. It does not say “suspend the accounting officer,’” says Muthambi

With regard to the above, Muthambi says that this forces her to conclude that her suspension is due to a deteriorating relationship between herself and the mayor.

“I think it is personal,” Muthambi said.

Muthambi did not want to comment on the allegations against her in the report, merely stating that her lawyers were working on the case.

“I don’t know who is going to pay the legal cost of this case. We [the municipality] do not have money for all of this, but unfortunately there is the issue of my integrity, which I must restore,” Muthambi said.

The Democratic Alliance in Louis Trichardt has, in the meantime, rejected Exco’s decision to suspend Muthambi.

“The executive does not have the power to suspend the municipal manager, where it will hold financial implications for the Municipality. Only Council can decide on such a suspension and the municipality’s attorneys have surely not been consulted in this regard,” said DA councillor Brian du Plooy.

“Instruction was also given to lock up the offices of the municipal manager, as well as the executive chambers, preventing anybody from entering the offices. Above all, Muthambi is on a course and was instructed by the mayor to attend. To Muthambi’s surprise, she has not been officially informed on the matter, which shows that the mayor is once again pulling wool over the eyes of SAMWU, whom she told that Muthambi would not return to work … This shows that there is a personal vendetta against the municipal manager by the ANC and the mayor,” said Du Plooy.

News - Date: 04 July 2008

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.

Email: [email protected]