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MBABANE CEO RECRUITMENT MARRED BY CONTROVERSY

27/08/2023 15:53:00 Ntombi Mhlongo

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MBABANE -The recruitment for a candidate to take the hot seat of being the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Municipal Council of Mbabane has been marred by controversy.

While the exercise has not been completed yet, there are already mixed feelings regarding some of the candidates believed to have applied. Also, concerns have been raised that some well-known executives have allegedly not made the cut as they have not been shortlisted. The Times SUNDAY has gathered from reliable sources that one of the candidates who has applied for the position is the acting CEO Bongani Dlamini. It has been gathered that his applying for the position has raised some questions for certain quarters. The issue is so serious that the newly-elected councillors have considered moving a motion to demand that he steps down from the position of acting CEO to avoid a conflict of interest in the recruitment exercise. Their gripe, it has been gathered, is that Dlamini holds the position of Director of Corporate Services at the municipality, a department which is responsible for the hiring of the consultant that is conducting the recruitment exercise. The consultant is JBH Management Consultancy, which is based at Ezulwini, is among the most highly regarded firms in the country.

Some ratepayers, who have spoken to this publication, have raised the same concern. “The recruiter is hired by the Corporate Services Department, which is headed by the acting CEO so there could be an element of a conflict of interest there,” one of the ratepayers said. Moving a motion means that one of the councillors will put forward a clear and concise proposal for a decision or action during a council meeting via the chairperson. When moving a motion during a council meeting, the mover must state their case to the meeting on that motion only and may not be interrupted by the chairperson unless the motion is frivolous or ridiculous and is unlikely to be seconded. Generally, the person making the motion, known as the mover, must first be recognised by the chairperson as being entitled to speak; this is known as obtaining the floor.

response

When a questionnaire was sent to the municipality to ascertain if the management was aware of the proposed motion, a response provided by the Public Information Officer, Lucky Tsabedze, was that they were unable to confirm it before being tabled at a council meeting. “The council has not yet dealt with any motion, including the purported one as motions can only be formally received during a meeting,” Tsabedze said. This publication also sought clarity on whether there was a conflict of interest in the fact that the consultant conducting the recruitment exercise was hired by the Corporate Services Department, which is headed by the acting CEO, who is one of the candidates who have applied. The response provided by Tsabedze was that there was zero conflict of interest.

Tsabedze stated that the terms of reference and the actual selection of the recruitment firm were all decisions taken by councillors who form part of the council. “The recruitment firm also reports directly to the council and there is no way that the acting CEO, or any candidate, can interfere with the recruitment as the process is entirely overseen by the council. Insinuations that one candidate holds an advantage over others are baseless and only seek to torpedo a very fair and professional recruitment exercise,” he said. Regarding the well-known executives, who are known to this publication but cannot be named for ethical reasons and to protect them from their current employment, it has been alleged that they did not make the cut due to various reasons, which however, have not been confirmed by the consultant.

experience

Worth noting is that some of them are known to have vast experience in local government as they have worked in local municipalities before. It has been gathered that the concerns regarding the recruitment exercise have reached the ears of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane. Last week, the minister is said to have sought answers on the issue and advised that a report should be prepared regarding same. Meanwhile, JBH Management Consultancy Managing Director Luke Mnisi made it known to this publication that all issues related to the recruitment exercise should be addressed by the council as it was the one that hired the firm. Mnisi said his firm has been there for years and that he was sleeping in peace knowing that it did its job diligently and transparently. He said he was willing to engage anyone who had concerns.

Meanwhile, he raised concern that people were talking about candidates when the recruitment exercise was still ongoing. The recruitment exercise is being conducted to replace long serving former CEO Gideon Mhlongo, whose term of office elapsed at the end of last month. In terms of the Urban Government Act, 1969, a council is mandated to appoint a fit person to be town clerk or CEO upon such terms and conditions as it may determine. The Act stipulates that the town clerk is the chief executive and administrative officer of the Council and, unless otherwise provided, shall have the ,charge and custody of and be responsible for all books, deeds, records and other documents of the Council. “The appointment of a person as town clerk and the terms and conditions of such appointments is in all respects subject to the approval of the minister. The town clerk shall not, except with the consent of the minister, perform the duties or exercise the powers of the town treasurer,” reads part of the Act.

The Act further stipulates that no person holding the office of town clerk, town treasurer, medical officer of health or town engineer shall be removed from office unless and until such removal shall have been decided upon by a majority of councillors present at a meeting specially convened for the purpose and the number of members voting in the majority is at least one-half the membership of the full council. “The removal from office of a person holding any of the offices is subject to the approval of the minister,” the Act stipulates. In accordance with the provisions of the Urban Government Act, the duties of the CEO or clerk include being responsible to the management committee for the proper carrying out of all directions of the council and the management committee. The clerk also has a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the management committee is properly supplied with the information which it needs to exercise its responsibilities and is also responsible for coordinating the activities of the council and the general supervision, control and efficiency of the administration, organisation and management of the council’s departments, sections and branches.

In the local government or municipalities, it is not a new thing for councillors to move a motion that affects the office of the CEO. In 2021, councillors under the Pigg’s Peak Town Council removed the then Mayor Victor Rodrigues and his deputy after accusing him of causing instability and bringing to disrepute the organisation, while the latter was accused of siding with him. In terms of the law, the councillors have the powers to appoint and dismiss.