Makana municipality has had its fair share of challenges this year, from political interference in officials' duties to service-delivery protests, the axing of senior managers and a natural disaster that left people destitute.
Makana municipality has had its fair share of challenges this year, from political interference in officials' duties to service-delivery protests, the axing of senior managers and a natural disaster that left people destitute.
Council set the tone at the beginning of the year, when the Department of Local Government's Namhla Dlulane, deployed from the national office to take control of the city's finances, was sent packing. They voted to instal Finance Deputy Director, Marius Crouse, as acting chief financial officer until the position was filled.
I inherited many enemies… but my conscience is clear… I never gave in to any pressure from anyone in Makana Local Municipality, Dlulane said afterwards about her dismissal.
She was the first of three senior officials to be sent on their way this year.
Tensions grew between Council and their employees in February, when the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) gave Makana Mayor, Zamuxolo Peter seven days to dismiss municipal manager Baart.
In May Baart was suspended for seven days, following Council's decision to investigate allegations related to her annual report and her behaviour in Council meetings.
In May the ANC centenary flame arrived in Makana and for a second time in November, when National Executive Committee member Malusi Gigaba delivered a lecture about the 11th president of the party, Thabo Mbeki, at the Settlers Monument.
In July Council put Baart on a 90-day suspension following recommendations that serious charges of misconduct must be investigated.
The municipality appointed Grahamstown attorneys Smith Tabata as independent investigators and they recommended that disciplinary proceedings be instituted against Baart.
In July Makana Municipality finally dismissed CFO Jackson Ngcelwane, who had been suspended with full pay a year before. Ngcelwane was fired a few hours before his five-year contract with Makana ended.
He famously said, six months earlier, that he would stand on top of the Cathedral for a week if he were found guilty of fraud or corruption.
In August the Auditor General Terrence Nombembe released a report on Makana Municipality's financial affairs. It revealed that the lack of efficient top management was the cause of its financial difficulties since the municipality received a disclaimer of opinion for the third time.
In September residents of Grahamstown's former coloured areas marched to the city hall to demand that the mayor fire Ward 3 councillor Marcelle Booysen. I have the first say and the last say, was her response to allegations that she had sown racial divisions, claiming she was under attack from an ANC faction in her ward committee.
In October Mayor Zamuxolo Peter finally announced the ending of Makana's bitter relationship with municipal manager Ntombi Baart after reaching a compromise with her lawyers in the interest of stability and service-delivery for the people of Makana. She was officially sent on her way effective from the end of September, 11 months before her contract ended.
Also in October, Makana is declared a disaster after heavy rains damaged houses. Also, the N2 to Port Elizabeth collapsed dramatically. The municipality said repairs of the damage would cost at least R158 million. The road was eventually re-opened on 30 November after the bypass was completed.
A war of words simmered throughout the year between Councillor Devon Waldick and Makana Independent New Deal (Mind) founder Jock McConnachie. Waldick was rumoured to have joined the ANC but he denied this and said he would indeed join the ANC – but only at the end of his current term.
Later Mind executive management committee gave Waldick his marching orders. I'm going nowhere, he responded.
In November, Grocott's Mail organised a name-change debate at the City Hall. It was disrupted towards the end when Makana councillors Lena May and Devon Waldick exchanged strong words, stopping short of exchanging blows.
In November Paul Notyawa, a mayoral committee member and full-time councillor, confirmed his alleged double-parking and said dirty politics were behind moves to question his frequent absence from his office. The council gave Notyawa 30 days to choose between the two jobs. The deadline has lapsed, but Council has said nothing more about the matter.
In December, Makana appointed a new CFO, Deochand Sahibdeen, who will start in January.
