Lawyers have been called in to deal with municipal manager Pravine Naidoo as he battens down the hatches at the City Hall.
Lawyers have been called in to deal with municipal manager Pravine Naidoo as he battens down the hatches at the City Hall.
Outrage over a questionable deal with Naidoo has made rifts in local government as clear as daylight, as 22 councillors go head to head with him in a bid to take charge of the crumbling municipality.
Against a backdrop of missed statutory meetings, ongoing water cuts in the town and warnings from both provincial government and party heavyweights, Council has drawn the line for Naidoo and Speaker, Rachel Madinda-Isaac.
The councillors signed a petition after Madinda-Isaac failed to convene a Council meeting to discuss Naidoo's position. And they ordered a three-month precautionary suspension for Naidoo.
But Naidoo has allegedly refused to accept and sign his letter of suspension and now the municipality has called in lawyers to try and get him to comply.
Earlier this year councillors questioned an agreement signed by Madinda-Isaac offering Naidoo R3 million compensation plus R100 000 in legal costs. This was in settlement of an old dispute with Makana Municipality arising from his previous term as municipal manager.
Naidoo is under fire for allegedly influencing the settlement agreement of a R3m tax-free payment.
The document, signed by Madinda-Isaac, also agrees to the municipality's payment of Naidoo's legal bill. Grocott's Mail has a copy of the document.
In October, strategic manager Mncedisi Boma authorised the payment of over R100 000 to Naidoo in respect of legal costs.
Naidoo's case against Makana Municipality, which began almost six years ago, was first heard in the Labour Court. He lost with costs his case in the high court and the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Confidential sources within the municipality have confirmed that the decision to suspend Naidoo for three months was taken last Friday during a confidential council meeting.
The meeting continued despite the absence of both the Mayor and the Speaker.
This week several attempts to reach Mayor Zamuxolo Peter by telephone were unsuccessful and Grocott's Mail was unable to obtain his comment on Council's recent decision.
Madinda-Isaac referred Grocott's Mail to the municipal spokesperson for comment.
"I can't speak about a meeting. Ask the people who had a meeting. I won't answer about a meeting," Madinda-Isaac said on Wednesday.
Municipal spokesperson Mncedisi Boma referred queries about Naidoo to the Mayor.
"I can't give you information because the Mayor and I agreed that he will speak on this matter, I will give him a notification that you are trying to get response on the issue," said Boma on Wednesday.
Attempts to obtain Naidoo's comment were unsuccessful.
Naidoo took the municipality to the Labour Court after his removal from office in 2007.
In that matter he demanded to be reinstated or that the municipality pay him over R5 million, the equivalent of the municipal manager’s total remuneration package calculated over five years. It was R5.1m at the time.
