After the Koukamma mayor refused to resign in May, he was recalled as a councillor and placed on precautionary suspension by the ANC.
This comes as Eastern Cape co-operative governance MEC Zolile Williams intervened in the troubled municipality.
Fuzile Yake was placed on precautionary suspension after refusing to comply with an instruction from the ANC’s Sarah Baartman leaders to resign.
As a result, ANC Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi suspended him for three years in June.
He also recalled him as a councillor.
In a letter sent to Yake on June 10, Ngcukayitobi accused Yake of contravening several ANC rules, telling him he was placed on precautionary suspension pending a disciplinary hearing.
“The provincial executive committee of the Eastern Cape (PEC), acting in terms of Rule 25.60 of the ANC constitution on its meeting held on May 13 ... has authorised me in my capacity as the ANC provincial secretary of the Eastern Cape to suspend your ANC membership until finalisation of your disciplinary hearing.”
Yake was ordered not to attend any party activities or speak on behalf of the ANC.
He could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
On Wednesday, Williams’ spokesperson, Pheello Oliphant, said the MEC visited Kareedouw to support the municipality under Section 154 of the constitution.
“The MEC’s visit was prompted by protracted governance problems that had beset the municipality.
“The municipality was unable to fulfil its constitutional obligation and function as required by the constitution.
“Service delivery to communities had ground to a halt.
“The council was not spending money according to the Municipal Finance Management Act .
“Unauthorised, irregular, wasteful expenditure was the order of the day.
“The acting period of the previous acting municipal manager had long lapsed.
“It exceeded the 90 days normal period and was irregular,” Oliphant said.
Williams has seconded former Nelson Mandela Bay COO Mzwakhe Clay to serve as the municipal manager for three months.
“He must put the financial recovery plan of the municipality back on track.
“He must table the municipal financial monthly report before the MEC at the end of each month.
“He must oversee the recruitment and appointment of the new municipal manager within 90 days.”
In May, protesters demanded that former municipal manager Wayne Hermanus be removed and return to his original post as community services director.
It was alleged that Hermanus appointed Gerald Seas as acting chief financial officer despite Seas not being an employee of the municipality.
Seas has since stepped down from the position of acting CFO.
Oliphant said Clay was also tasked with brokering peace between the mayor, speaker and chief whip as they were not working in unison.
“He must investigate all the tenders done irregularly during the acting period of the previous acting municipal manager in terms of Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003.
“The acting municipal manager must draft a process plan of the revival of the Koukamma municipality to a proper institution in terms of the Municipal Systems Act 117 of 1998.”
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.