ANC councillor Andile Lungisa wants the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to hire 11 men to work as bodyguards and drivers for himself and other mayoral committee members.
In an internal letter, Lungisa instructs Roelf Basson, the director in the mayor’s office, to make the appointments happen immediately.
The attempt was rejected by city manager Peter Neilson who said it was not in line with procedure.
Ousted DA mayor Athol Trollip said that when he was mayor he had three bodyguards, one of them his driver, and another in a back-up vehicle.
Lungisa, who is the political head for infrastructure and the engineering department, wrote that this was a decision agreed to by him and mayor Mongameli Bobani.
He also claimed that the men had, between September and November, protected six mayoral committee members, without pay.
According to municipal policy, the mayor, deputy mayor and the speaker are entitled to bodyguards.
Human Settlements political head Andile Mfunda had also been allocated security. This is because the position had been historically assessed and confirmed as high risk.
Some of the men listed in Lungisa’s letter are part of a group that have been seen accompanying him around town for months.
In the November 30 letter, Lungisa claimed the protectors have been allocated to:
• Human settlements portfolio head Andile Mfunda;
• Roads and transport portfolio head Rose Daaminds;
• Corporate services portfolio head Makhi Feni;
• Economic development and tourism portfolio head Queenie Pink and
• Public health portfolio head Yolisa Pali.
In the list provided by Lungisa who purported that it had been agreed upon by himself and mayor Mongameli Bobani all MMCs except Mfunda were allocated a driver and a protector.
He has claimed that the protectors had been allocated as follows:
• Mfunda to get one extra protector to bolster his already existing security detail;
• Daaminds, Pink, Pali, Feni and Lungisa have each been allocated a protector and a driver.
On Tuesday, Lungisa declined to comment saying only: “These are internal matters which cannot be discussed with the media – they are matters of security and they are very sensitive.”
Some of the listed protectors have been seen accompanying Lungisa to meetings and events since August.
On December 10 Basson, before referring the matter to Neilson, warned the political appointments were not provided for in the city’s budget while the organogram could not accommodate the officers.
“In terms of corporate human resources practices the employment of political office bearers are also subjected to the positions reflecting in the approved organogram and that budget provision exists. The employment of persons outside the human resources management services is regarded as irregular,” Basson wrote...