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Buyelwa Mafaya, spokesperson for Nelson Mandela Bay.
- Nelson Mandela Bay received a second order from the country’s highest courts to elect a mayor.
- The court upheld the decision of Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane’s executive to intervene in the subway.
- The court ordered that a special meeting be held to elect a mayor within seven days.
Cleaning up its act immediately, the Grahamstown Superior Court has ordered the Nelson Mandela Bay council to uphold the Eastern Cape provincial executive’s decision to intervene in the subway.
The court ruled Wednesday that Nelson Mandela Bay will hold a special council meeting to elect a mayor within seven days.
The ruling comes days after council president Buyelwa Mafaya lost a judicial appeal against the district attorney regarding the election of a mayor, with costs.
The provincial executive, headed by Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane and the MEC by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Xolile Nqatha, had previously threatened to dissolve the metro under the provisions of Article 139 (1) (a) of the Constitution.
The metro did not comply with the recommendations of the National Treasury, the audit firm Deloitte and Touche, as well as Nqatha, who raised the alarm in the metro for non-compliance with the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts.
More than R 1 billion in grant funds, earmarked for the municipality, are being withheld by the National Treasury due to the municipality’s failure to comply with the guidelines.
News24 previously reported that R753.8 million of the money was intended to be allocated in the last quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year, while R498 million was for the first quarter of the 2020/2021 financial year.
READ | More trouble for Nelson Mandela Bay as Treasury threatens to stop funding for alleged wrongdoing
The National Treasury is empowered by the Constitution to stop the transfer of funds to any State body that commits a serious or persistent breach of the prescribed measures to promote transparency, accountability and effective financial management of the economy, debt and the public sector.
Critical vacancies
The municipality was also ordered to fill critical vacant positions within 60 days and immediately develop a process plan for hiring executive directors in the human settlements and cooperative services departments.
“The city council, if you have not already done so, to terminate the appointment of Mr. [Mvuleni] Mapu as interim municipal administrator and immediately appoint a suitable person who meets the requirements prescribed for the position, for which the municipal council can request the provincial and / or national government, ”the court ruled.
Mapu was temporarily replaced by Anele Qaba after he (Mapu) was arrested on corruption charges in August.
Mapu’s appointment was heavily criticized by the National Treasury, while Nqatha said his appointment was irregular and illegal.
DA mayoral candidate Nqaba Bhanga said he would file a court application to hold Mafaya in contempt of court after she indicated that she would not be able to hold a special council meeting because she was ill as a result of Covid-19.
Bhanga, however, said there were two options available to Mafaya, including holding the meeting virtually or handing over the reins to the acting city manager.
“It is a day of celebration for the people of the city. We are going to make a policy learn that the law is above it,” he said.
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