Stellenbosch Municipality followed due process in the appointment of two municipal employees.
This is according to Geraldine Mettler, Stellenbosch municipal manager, in a media statement shared with MatieMedia via email on 19 August.
The regulation on the two appointments was “duly followed”, stated Mettler.
Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the public protector, accused Stellenbosch Municipality of irregularly appointing two municipal employees, according to a press statement by GOOD, the political party. “The municipality has provided extensive responses and inputs to the [public protector],” said Geraldine Mettler, Stellenbosch municipal manager, in a media statement shared via email. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
This comes after the political party GOOD called for an investigation into the role of Gesie van Deventer, the mayor of Stellenbosch, in the alleged irregular appointments of the two municipal workers.
This is according to Janke Tolmay, media manager for GOOD, who communicated with MatieMedia via email correspondence.
GOOD’s request for an investigation was based on a report by Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the public protector, from 30 March, according to a press statement by GOOD from 17 August.
The report focused on “allegations of improper conduct and maladministration against the Stellenbosch Local Municipality”, according to the front page of the report.
In the report, a complainent alleged that the appointment of the two employees was improper. The public protector found that the allegation of irregular appointments by the municipality was substantiated, according to the report.
An aggrieved ex-councillor who was not re-elected to council lodged the complaint of irregular appointments, claimed Mettler.
GOOD submitted a motion to the council of Stellenbosch Municipality for the matter to be tabled on 24 August at the monthly council meeting, according to Tolmay.
However, the matter was not discussed at the meeting. “The motions submitted by [GOOD] were not in line with council’s Rules of Order and so they did not serve before council,” said Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson of Stellenbosch Municipality, via email correspondence with MatieMedia.
“Stellenbosch Municipality prides itself on being an institution that follows the law,” says Geraldine Mettler, Stellenbosch municipal manager, in a media statement shared via email. “Council has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of maladministration or irregularity,” she added. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Alleged irregular appointments
It was alleged that Stellenbosch Municipality irregularly appointed Annalene de Beer, their director of strategic and corporate services, and Kevin Carolus, their chief financial officer (CFO), according to the public protector’s report.
De Beer was appointed on a 10-year contract, despite a recommendation of five years by the municipality’s selection panel, which is irregular, claimed Tolmay.
Similarly, the extension of Carolus’s position of CFO from a 10-year contract to a permanent position was improper, she claimed.
GOOD proposed that an external law firm conduct an investigation, stated Tolmay.
At this month’s municipal council meeting, GOOD wanted to table the matter of alleged irregular appointments by Stellenbosch Municipality, according to Janke Tolmay, media manager for GOOD, via email correspondence with MatieMedia. However, the matter was not discussed at the council meeting. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Response from Stellenbosch Municipality
“Stellenbosch Municipality is taken aback by the public protector’s report released on 30 March 2022 and we have made our position on this clear from the beginning,” said Mettler on 19 August.
“The desperate attempt to drag the executive mayor’s name into this is absolute political opportunism, which is baseless and libellous,” claimed Mettler. The report is an attack on the mayor’s “integrity and reputation”, she alleged.
The municipality is currently in discussions with the Public Protector’s Office in respect of the report, stated Grobbelaar.
Gesie van Deventer, Kevin Carolus and Annalene de Beer were not available for comment.