Magalela under scrutiny over review of Nelson Mandela Bay officials’ suspensions

ACDP flags conflict of interest in former acting city boss’s instruction to have disciplinary board chair revisit cases

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom submitted a motion of exigency at a municipal public accounts committee meeting this week
BURNING QUESTIONS: ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom submitted a motion of exigency at a municipal public accounts committee meeting this week
Image: EUGENE COETZEE

An instruction by former Nelson Mandela Bay acting city manager Luvuyo Magalela to get the metro’s disciplinary board chair, Luvuyo Bono, to review cases of previously suspended officials has come under scrutiny.

The ACDP has questioned whether the instruction amounted to a conflict of interest. 

As a result of Bono’s review, the suspension of some of the officials was lifted by Magalela.

On Tuesday, ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom submitted a motion of exigency — an urgent matter that requires immediate attention — at a municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) meeting.

The motion was unanimously adopted.

The disciplinary board is an independent advisory body that assists the council with investigations of allegations of financial misconduct and provides recommendations on steps to be taken regarding disciplinary proceedings.

Tabling the motion, Grootboom said Bono was contracted by the city to handle disciplinary matters.

He said Magalela’s instruction to law firm McWilliams & Elliott to task Bono with reviewing specific disciplinary cases was irregular and constituted a conflict of interest.

This was because Bono, as disciplinary board chair, was already investigating certain cases involving some of the officials.

McWilliams & Elliott is part of a panel of law firms which provide legal services to the municipality.

“I therefore move that a verbal response be provided to MPAC in the standing committee and that a written response to the questions be submitted at the next meeting,” Grootboom wrote.

“The upliftment of the suspensions of the officials by Bono and Magalela poses a risk and compromises the ongoing investigations into their conduct, particularly those investigated by the Hawks and other external forensic investigations.

“Therefore, I move that, due to the irregular appointment of Bono, the decision to lift these suspensions must be retracted with immediate effect.”

Bono, when contacted, referred questions to McWilliams & Elliott, saying he had been briefed by the law firm on the work that needed to be done.

Bono said he had not been paid but that process was under way.

Asked whether he had always done work outside the disciplinary board’s scope for the municipality, Bono said: “Yes, their records will show that from day one of being appointed as the disciplinary board chair I also did other work for the municipality.

“I have always done work outside the disciplinary board, my contract does not prohibit me.”

McWilliams & Elliott director Imraan Petersen said it had acted on Magalela’s instructions.

“Magalela in his letter of instruction requested us to appoint Bono.”

When contacted, Magalela said the law firm was part of the city’s legal panel and it had sourced the expertise of Bono to conduct the reviews.

“The attorneys were appointed through a legal, competitive bidding process, and therefore the payment is not irregular,” Magalela said.

He said some of the affected officials had been suspended unfairly and against the provisions of the disciplinary code and that wasteful expenditure for salary payments for suspended employees for lengthy periods required an evaluation.

In the motion, Grootboom wants newly appointed acting city manager Mandla George to answer the following questions:

  • Who appointed Bono to review the disciplinary matters?;
  • Given that Bono is the disciplinary board chair, was this appointment not irregular or did it not constitute a conflict of interest?;
  • Did the municipality make any payments to Bono for work done in reviewing disciplinary matters outside the scope of the board?;
  • If he was paid and his appointment [to do the review] was irregular, did the payment not constitute irregular expenditure?; and
  • Is there any ongoing investigation by external bodies such as the Hawks into the conduct of the suspended officials, including any ongoing forensic investigations?

Grootboom also requested the names of the suspended officials whose files were reviewed by Bono, their review reports, the charges they faced and their status.

Magalela instructed McWilliams & Elliott to appoint Bono in a letter dated January 11.

In another letter dated February 28, Magalela instructed the firm to review the disciplinary matters for human settlements director Mvuleni Mapu and director of transport operations Givon van Eyck.

Mapu was placed on precautionary suspension after his arrest in 2020 in connection with a R12.8m tender to build RDP houses in Wells Estate.

It is not clear why Van Eyck was suspended.

Van Eyck was kicked out of a roads and transport committee meeting on Monday after councillors said his appointment to act as executive director was irregular.

The DA’s Morne Steyn, ANC’s Xolani Notshe and EFF councillor Ndumiso Qwazi said they supported the ACDP motion.

George, who was part of the MPAC meeting, did not answer any of the questions it contained.

Afterwards, George said he was still finding his feet in the metro and had not interacted with the information.

“I just settled back in the metro, I need time to get the report from the previous acting city manager.”

HeraldLIVE


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