By SIBUSISO DLAMINI | 2024-01-30

Bullish Mbabane municipal councillors are ready to disregard SNG’s recommendation for the choice of the next Mbabane City Council chief executive officer.

Instead of going with the consultant’s recommendation, councillors yesterday made their choice of leader for the city – a third choice candidate who is reported to have flunked the interview for the position. According to sources within the municipality, the candidate, who is known to this newspaper, scored lower than 50 per cent in the recruitment exercise.

“Councillors basically want a person who failed the recruitment exercise, for the position of chief executive of the city,” a source said yesterday, confirming that the councillors decided that they would not proceed with the recommendation of the consultant to the minister for housing and urban government.

split

In what was reportedly a heated meeting, councillors are said to have thrown their full weight behind the third choice candidate, defending their position by declaring that it was their right to recommend a candidate of their choice to the minister. However, this split the chamber between those for and against the candidate, with those opposed to this recommendation being intimidated and threatened as tensions intensified over the issue.

“The city is in trouble,” said a source, accusing councillors of low-level thinking and being lobbied to arrive at such a controversial choice.

“It is clear that councillors do not have the best interest of the city, but those of their stomach. There is nothing else to this other than their personal interests,” said another, when contacted last night.

“You surely can’t defend the decision; a third choice candidate who literally flunked the recruitment exercise and who clearly does not fit the bill to lead the city can’t come close to the position,” added another informant.

The council has finally been handed the report by the consultant and now needs to make a recommendation to the minister. The meeting was, therefore, convened to debate the report, with a view to getting the full report of the exercise.

This newspaper understands that councillors are divided over how the city is run, with a number of the councillors starting to throw their weight around. The absence of a substantive chief executive officer has started to be felt as they have been alleged to be making impossible demands to the council, much against the rules. “A lot of it has been impossible demands that are clearly demonstrative of a group that is running amok. It is a total disaster,” added another source, who asked not to be named.

“The chamber has been characterised with squabbles and fights over many things, the latest being the trip to Taiwan,” continued the source. He said it is because of these tensions within the chamber that the debate over the choice of candidate was manipulated, with some of those backing the report to be sent as is to be minister warned they would be helped to unpack their suitcases, in reference to next month’s trip to Taiwan.

“The main issue is that the consultant’s candidate was outstanding, and scored above 80 per cent in the interview. This candidate has all the qualities that the municipality needs to take the city to the next level. But people are busy looking at other things. That is what it comes down to. They have zero regard for the success of the municipality, which is such a shame and a scandal,” said the source.

responded

Meanwhile, it can be revealed that the councillors put their foot down yesterday and would not be swayed, with the mayor of the city also helpless to win over the argument. The mayor would not take calls the entire afternoon when called for comment. He also had not responded to text messages sent to his number. Only three candidates applied for the position, in what was a second attempt at the recruitment of Gideon Mhlongo’s replacement.  “Yes, there were only three candidates who applied, and my understanding is that only those three were shortlisted. In the end, you will now get a third class for the position,” said another source. The city’s spokesperson would also not be drawn for comment last night, referring all questions to the mayor. Two councillors called to verify details of the meeting also refused to comment, saying only the mayor was the rightful person to comment on the matter.

An official at the ministry of housing told this newspaper that the recruitment of a chief executive, chief finance officer and engineer, among other positions, was guided by a circular. The official pointed out that the recruitment of the CEO was a specialised function, and that as such, it was not in the prerogative of the councillors. It is outsourced to a consultant, to ensure that it is properly done and executed, and therefore a recommendation to the minister could only be that of the consultant.

“If the council was to therefore deviate from this recommendation, they would have to submit a very strong reason for it,” said the official, pointing out that the ranking of candidates was essential for such a reason.

“In this case, it must be taken as is, by the council to be recommended to the minister. If they were to change that, then they would have to justify it.”

The controversy surrounding Mhlongo’s replacement has been a protracted matter. In August of last year, candidates who applied for the CEO position, along with a 12-member council, raised concerns about the selection of the recruitment agency by the office of the director of corporate services.  In his address during the vusela tour about a week ago, Minister of Housing Urban Development Apollo Maphalala underscored the imperative for the municipality to conduct the recruitment process with the utmost professionalism.  He emphasised the necessity for a clear demarcation between the roles of a CEO and a politician, emphasising that addressing issues requires an approach devoid of bickering.

Councillors unceremoniously remove acting CEO

The acting Mbabane City Council chief executive Bongani Dlamini has been stopped from this role by the councillors.

This was taken at yesterday’s heated meeting, where councillors resolved that Dlamini’s acting role be stopped, with immediate effect.

He was informed that he will step down from his role at the end of the month, and report back to his substantive position of corporate affairs director. The decision was also criticised as being controversial and unprocedural, because the subject of Dlamini’s acting position was not listed as an item for the meeting. “The removal of the acting CEO was not on the agenda. An item has to be on the agenda for it to be discussed, but councillors decided that they would take the decision nonetheless. “It came out of the blue,” said a source, who said councillors were being vindictive against Dlamini, this stemming from next month’s trip to Taiwan. “This situation is dire, and I am certain the minister will need to intervene, because these councillors are out of line,” said the source. According to sources, Dlamini had been seen as a stumbling block by some of the councillors, who decided to have him removed, despite that the recruitment report has now been presented and debated.

 A source questioned the logic of removing the acting CEO when the decision to appoint the incumbent was very imminent.“It seems like a personal attack. Those councillors are definitely getting even with him,” said another. It is said  councillors resolved to appoint Busangaye Masina, the director of community services, to act in the position. Masina is thought to have initially applied for the vacant position before the exercise was restarted.

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