Two scathing reports have made adverse findings against Sakhisizwe municipal manager Dumile Mvulane.
A December report by legal firm NT Vuba alleges that Mvulane unilaterally made several illegal appointments and, in one case, hired an IT technician whose qualifications were called into question by the investigators.
The lawyers were brought in by a council resolution following complaints of cronyism and maladministration.
The second report was authored by the auditor-general’s office. In this report, seen by the Dispatch and signed on March 24 by senior AG manager Rama Purushotaman, Mvulane is cited as giving “misstatements” about contractors’ claims totalling R17m last year.
Mvulane refused to comment on the findings and allegations in the NT Vuba report, and requested that the full report be sent to him, despite the report being tabled in council earlier this year.
The Daily Dispatch furnished him with key findings from the report, but he had not responded in detail at the time of writing.
The AG report is yet to be tabled before council, but Mvulane said this report was merely “seeking clarity”.
Mvulane received a letter of suspension, dated October 18 2018, but was apparently “reinstated” last month without any council resolution.
Municipal staff and residents of Cala and Elliot took to the streets a fortnight ago to protest Mvulane’s return to his post.
Acting mayor Buyiswa Ntsere refused to comment beyond confirming she was aware of the NT Vuba report.
The Dispatch has seen a letter dated April 2 2019 from Cogta MEC Fikile Xasa, who informed the Sakhisizwe troika that the specialised audit services of the treasury had been tasked with conducting a forensic investigation into the municipality.
An investigator from NT Vuba had requested the resolutions of the minutes pertaining to the appointment of the IT appointee, but Mvulane failed to provide the notes, a source said. The appointee’s name is known to the Dispatch, but it has been withheld as we could not reach him for comment.
The NT Vuba report states that when investigators questioned municipal staff about who had done the headhunting for the IT position – which was not on the organogram – they were told “only the municipal manager can answer that”.
Key NT Vuba findings are:..