Cape Town - The provincial ANC says it is studying a judgment by the Western Cape High Court which stopped the ANC-run Knysna council from paying for seven support staff for political office-bearers hired by the municipality.
The court interdict was brought in an application filed in October by the provincial DA which in September had accused the ANC of cadre deployment following the Knysna municipality’s proposal for new council positions with an annual salary cost estimated at R2.4 million.
The DA’s application wanted the court to review and set aside the council’s decision to create the seven political appointees who were hired to work for mayor Aubrey Tsengwa (ANC), deputy mayor Alberto Marbi (Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners, PBI) and speaker Mncedisi Skosana (ANC).
The DA had opposed the resolution creating the staff posts in council saying they were contrary to the prescribed statutory provisions for the creation of such jobs.
Granting the application on Friday last week, Judge Robert Henney said Tsengwa, Marbi and acting municipal manager Roland Butler had all fallen short of the standards constitutionally expected of political office bearers and officials.
Judge Henney also accused Butler of not playing open cards with the court in his affidavit by withholding the fact that he actually made the appointments.
The judge also took issue with Marbi for being dishonest in his affidavit by misrepresenting the legal opinion the council had received on the matter of the appointees, which had actually advised that the appointments were unlawful and would result in irregular spending.
He said: “On the facts before me, given the shameless and flagrant conduct of the respondents, and particularly the respondents who aligned themselves to the seventh respondent, the deputy mayor, who was prepared to commit the fraud on this court, should this court not grant the relief sought by the applicants, irreparable harm is likely to result.”
Judge Henney said the appointments were made in a reckless and calculated manner and that the elected representatives and the municipal officials did not care whether their conduct would amount to fruitless, wasteful and irregular spending of public money.
ANC provincial local government spokesperson Cameron Dugmore said: “We expect our councillors to follow the law and the relevant municipal prescripts.
“There is nothing wrong with appointing role-playing staff to support political office bearers, but due process must be followed.”
Terming the ANC/Patriotic Alliance/EFF/PBI coalition running Knysna Council the “Coalition of Corruption”, the DA’s Knysna constituency head Dion George said the judgment was a victory for democracy.
He said the coalition had not followed any due process in appointing their cronies and that “their first order of business after ousting the DA-led coalition was to change the municipal organogram to accommodate cadres”.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za