DA leader Cilliers Brink has urged Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya to clarify her stance on the ANC’s push to remove city manager Johann Mettler.
City of Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has still not made her position clear in the latest fight in which city manager Johann Mettler’s job is on the line, DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink says.
Last week, the ANC in Tshwane alleged that Mettler’s appointment was conducted in a manner that mocks the prescripts on the appointment of senior managers.
DA writes to Moya over ANC statements
Brink said he wrote to ActionSA’s Moya to express the DA’s concern about statements made by the ANC in the media, attacking the validity of Mettler’s appointment as municipal manager.
“We want to caution you against such an allegation being used as a pretext for removing Mettler from his position irrationally and unlawfully, or otherwise placing undue pressure on him to resign.
ANC seeks council resolution on appointment
“The appointment and removal of a municipal manager and senior managers falls within the statutory competence of the council,” he said.
“The ANC will request its councillors to ensure that the speaker is requested to convene a special council meeting, as soon as possible, to allow the council to take a resolution on the validity of the appointment of the city manager.”
Brink has again called on Moya to clarify her view on the Mettler matter.
Moya accuses Brink of politicising the issue
Moya said she replied to Brink in writing after his letter to her was deliberately circulated in the media.
“This raises concerns as to whether the matter was raised in good faith, or intended primarily for public and political consumption.
“While you are entitled to raise issues in your capacity as leader of the opposition, how this matter has been handled invites questions about the motivation behind the correspondence,” she said.
Consultations underway
Moya also said she did not consider it appropriate to engage with the substantive contents of Brink’s letter.
“I have little confidence that any response would remain confined to its intended audience and I do not believe it is in the city’s interest to conduct this discussion through the media.
“That notwithstanding, I can confirm that the matter is currently the subject of formal consultation between myself, as mayor, and the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs.”
Moya said it would be premature to engage further on the matter before the conclusion of these consultations.
Legal risks
Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg said it was pointless to argue.
Mettler’s contract expires at the end of the council’s term.
“The council can’t just fire him. Any early termination of his contract will lead to litigation and that litigation won’t be settled for another 18 months to two years.
“It’s going to cost us millions in legal fees and damages,” he said.
“Even if there was a good case for getting rid of him – which I don’t think there is – but with the stuff on the council, you never know.
“This does not mean that I think, like the DA, that the sun shines out of Mettler. On the contrary,” he added.
Mettler’s credentials
- Tshwane City municipal manager Johann Mettler is widely regarded as one of SA’s most qualified and technocratic city managers: he has an LLM from Lund University in Sweden, an LLB and BProc from the University of the Western Cape and has worked in local government since 1995.
- He has served as an administrator brought in to stabilise dysfunctional municipalities.
NOW READ: A ‘mockery’ or ‘flimsy attack’? ANC and DA scrap over Tshwane city manager’s appointment
