A political showdown is looming between Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi and Mandela Bay Development Agency chief executive Anele Qaba.
A day after the council’s resolution to pursue a judicial review aimed at nullifying Qaba’s appointment and dissolving the agency’s board, Nqwazi wrote to Qaba and MBDA board chair Glenda Perumal, suspending their decisionmaking authority.
In her letter on Wednesday, Nqwazi said the council had agreed to dissolve the board, with the decision based on the underwhelming performance shown by its members in hiring Qaba.
“In light of these resolutions and in the best interest of the municipality, this serves to instruct you that neither the board nor CEO may make and/or take any further decisions on behalf of the MBDA, whether of a binding nature or not, pending the implementation of the resolutions.”
Nqwazi said if any financial decision was taken, the money would be personally recovered from Qaba or Perumal.
However, Qaba responded that same day, saying that official communication must be done by mayor Gary van Niekerk.
“To this end, your communication lacks legal legitimacy and therefore the instructions remain unlawful,” Qaba wrote.
The disagreement between the two originates from a legal opinion given to the municipality on Monday by advocate Olav Ronaasen.
He said Qaba’s appointment was flawed and irregular, suggesting that it could be invalidated by the courts.
This, he said, was because the selection process that led to Qaba being hired was manipulated by the board.
However, a second legal opinion solicited by the MBDA said that Ronaasen was wrong as his stance on Qaba’s appointment not adhering to senior managerial appointment regulations was misguided.
The legal opinion was written by advocate Richard Buchanan SC.
Source: https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/ceo-standoff-nelson-mandela-bays-agency-board-to-be-dissolved-after-dodgy-appointment-20230824
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