KZNCOGTA PROVIDES CLARIFICATION ON THE APPOINTMENT OF UMDONI MUNICIPAL MANAGER

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department notes the article published on news24 titled “KZN municipal manager fails to produce undergraduate qualifications.”

In the article, the qualifications of the Municipal Manager of the uMdoni Local Municipality, Ms. Thabisile Ndlela, are called into question by unnamed sources that the publication claims are from within the municipality.

The department wishes to point out that the process of appointing a municipal manager is regulated by the Local Government Municipal Systems Amendment Act 3 of 2022.

In Section 7(a) of the Act, municipalities are directed to submit all information pertaining to the appointment process and outcome of the recruitment process to the Cogta MEC.

The MEC is then tasked with assessing if the appointment process is in line with legislation.

In the case of the uMdoni Local Municipality, this process was followed thoroughly.

The information provided by the municipality was assessed, and it was found that the appointment of the municipal manager complied with the key recruitment and selection statutory provisions.

In terms of the regulations, the competency levels for municipal managers are:

* a bachelor’s degree or a relevant qualification registered on the National Qualifications Framework at NQF level 7; and

* minimum of 5 years’ experience at senior management level.

According to the information provided to the department, Ms. Ndlela holds a B. Commerce degree (Honours), a B.Tech degree, and 7 years of experience in senior management positions in local government; she meets the academic and experience requirements for the position of municipal manager.

It is unfortunate that the publication chose to run a story that casts aspersions on a professional without any due consideration for the reputational damage that such an article could have on their career.

The department demands that News24 retracts this article within 7 days.

Issued by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Bongi Sithole-Moloi

Ends.