Knysna Plett Herald
The Democratic Alliance says it does not support the appointment of advocate Lonwabo Ngoqo as the new Nelson Mandela Bay City Manager.
Ngoqo was appointed as the city's new accounting officer at a late-night council meeting on Thursday night following a recommendation by the UDM.
The appointment came after a motion of exigency by the UDM's councillor Luxolo Namette to rescind the appointment of the previous City Manager Noxolo Nqwazi.
DA Caucus Leader Rano Kayser says Ngoqo was found guilty of financial misconduct as a senior manager while performing duties as a city manager at Bitou Municipality.
Kayser says the Metro cannot have an accounting officer that was found guilty of financial misconduct who also failed to disclose this information in his application.
The DA says during his time with Bitou Municipality, Ngoqo was found guilty of four to seven counts of serious misconduct.
According to the DA, Bitou paid R23 million for land valued at R2.4 million under Ngoqo's watch which led to his dismissal in 2012 after a seven-month suspension.
The Constitutional Court confirmed his guilty findings as well as the dismissal of Advocate Ngoqo.
"Financial misconduct is very serious, you can't have an accounting officer found guilty of these types of charges," said Kayser.
He says the DA also didn't support the item as the processes followed were not in compliance with the rules of the Council.
"The DA cannot participate in an item which is non-compliant and is not in terms of the rules of order," he said.
Kayser said it was in the process of consulting its provincial and federal leadership on a way forward.
Meanwhile, the Good party slammed the DA for opting to vote against the ANC-led coalition government's motion to remove Nqwazi which it says demonstrated support for maladministration in the city.
GOOD, which forms part of the current governing administration, welcomed the removal of Nqwazi and what it calls the clean up of "embattled Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, where political divisions and corruption have plagued service delivery."
The party says there must be consequences for the costs incurred due to the illegal appointment of a City Manager.
