Enoch Mgijima municipality councillors have adopted a damning report from Bhisho that found suspended municipal manager Chris Magwangqana guilty of a litany of charges, including hiring staff to posts not budgeted for.
The report from cooperative governance and traditional affairs was adopted at a special council meeting on Monday.
It recommended that Magwangqana be held accountable for alleged financial misconduct and breach of the code of conduct applicable to municipal staff members.
The report came after the municipality approached Cogta MEC Fikile Xasa to assist them with conducting an investigation.
A team of four Cogta officials, led by Siphiwo Maqungo, was given 30 days to investigate and make findings.
According to the report seen by the Daily Dispatch, the investigation found Magwangqana guilty of failing to perform his responsibilities as an accounting officer and act in the best interest of the municipality in managing its financial affairs.
He was also found guilty of allowing or causing the attachment of municipal assets that were later auctioned to pay a debt to a service provider.
By doing so, he contravened the provisions of section 62 (1) (d) of the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 which requires the accounting officer of the municipality to prevent fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
It also found him guilty of:
Misleading the council on the financial position or financial viability, sources of income to settle debts and assets management of the municipality;
Act of gross insubordination or dereliction of duty by failing or refusing to implement a council resolution taken on September 21, wherein, among other things council instructed him to withdraw all pending legal challenges against the invocation of section 139 of the constitution and formally inform Xasa of this decision;
He caused fruitless and wasteful expenditure after instructing the chief financial officer to pay R725,399 to Wheedon Rushmere and Cole Attorneys on September 26 for the default judgment granted in favour of T-Square Engineers CC, after he was told that the administrator was at the Grahamstown high court on the very day to apply to interdict the planned auction that was set for September 28, as well as to apply for a stay of legal proceedings;
He contravened the provisions of local government municipal finance management regulation 32 by appointing Ruvick (Pty) Ltd to do revenue enhancement in the municipality, knowing that national Cogta had already appointed Bonakude Consulting to develop a simplified revenue plan for the municipality thereby committing fruitless and wasteful expenditure;
He failed to invoke section 152 and 153 of the MFMA in response to the mounting number of creditors and increasing legal challenges against the municipality; and
He irregularly appointed general managers without a job evaluation process, and caused fruitless and wasteful expenditure by making staff appointments in posts without an approved budget by council.
The report recommended that mayor Sisisi Tolashe appoint an independent and external presiding officer to lead evidence...