An unofficial meeting yesterday between the Mayor, suspended municipal manager Pravine Naidoo and strategic manager Mncedisi Boma has thrown the spotlight on claims of 'camps' within local government.
An unofficial meeting yesterday between the Mayor, suspended municipal manager Pravine Naidoo and strategic manager Mncedisi Boma has thrown the spotlight on claims of 'camps' within local government.
"We are not discussing his suspension," was the Mayor's reply on Thursday morning when Grocott's Mail asked him why Naidoo's vehicle was parked outside his house.
The vehicle that strategic manager Mncedisi Boma drives was also parked outside the Ilchester Road residence where Makana Municipality accommodates executive mayor Zamuxolo Peter.
The high court in Grahamstown last Friday granted an interdict barring Naidoo from his office.
'Yes, I called them to come here," the Mayor, apparently caught off guard, told Grocott's Mail. "I don't have a reason not to meet them. If I want to discuss anything with him (Naidoo) I can do so."
The Mayor confirmed earlier this week that neither he nor Council Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaacs had attended a special council meeting last Friday, where Naidoo was served with a precautionary suspension.
Speaking exclusively to Grocott's Mail on Tuesday, the Mayor said he had not yet spoken to Naidoo about his suspension.
"I was not part of the Council meeting that decided to [suspend]the municipal manager," Peter said.
He said acting municipal manager on the matter, public safety and community services director Mandisi Planga had applied to the high court to enforce Council's decision.
"On 12 December, Makana was granted the order," said the Mayor.
The mayor hinted at arguments that the special council meeting, held on 6 December, was not legitimate.
"The MM, or anyone else who contests the legitimacy of the meeting, has from now until 29 January 2014 to oppose the order," said Peter.
Asked on Tuesday if Naidoo was at work, the Mayor said, "The MM is not here as far as I am concerned. He might have been informed by his lawyers about the order, but I will phone him and find out."
Planga is to act as a municipal manager while Naidoo is on suspension.
"Based on the order granted, we have to respect that order," Peter said.
He admitted that Naidoo's suspension would affect the smooth running of the City Hall.
"I will be lying if I say it will not affect the staff. Officials are not sure who to communicate with. It is definitely going to affect the administration, but the situation is under control," Peter said.
He compared the situation with former municipal manager Ntombi Baart's suspension.
"I have managed with my team to bring stability and smooth running of the institution. I have informed the staff about the decision of the Council and also the High Court order," he said.
Naidoo is on three months' precautionary suspension, pending a disciplinary hearing.
Eastern Cape Local Government and Traditional Affairs MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane has said police could be drawn into a high-level probe into Makana Municipality.
Responding to questions in the provincial legislature at the end of last month, he described an agreement signed by Madinda earlier this year to pay Naidoo a R3 million settlement as "extraordinarily odd".
It is in connection with this payment that disciplinary processes have been set into motion.
Questioned yesterday about the ethics of meeting with a suspended employee, Peter said, "The court is clear that he is not allowed to come to the offices. We are not discussing his suspension."
When Grocott's Mail asked Boma on Thursday morning to confirm whether he was in a meeting with the Mayor, he avoided answering and instead said he was on sick leave.
