Opposition parties gun for Durban city manager
The letter writer argues that is typical of the ANC to instead of welcoming the clearing of the air and the potential outing of the guilty, for its councillors pounce on the whistle-blower, Sipho Nzuza, pictured. Picture: Independent Media File. The letter writer argues that is typical of the ANC to instead of welcoming the clearing of the air and the potential outing of the guilty, for its councillors pounce on the whistle-blower, Sipho Nzuza, pictured. Picture: Independent Media File.
Durban - Being a municipal official doesn’t absolve eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza from accounting for all the questionable and irregular contracts that bear his signature, opposition parties in the council said on Tuesday.
This comes after the announcement by the ANC provincial leadership of the total overhaul of the eThekwini and Msunduzi municipal executive committees.
The provincial leadership is dealing with the issue of replacing the fired ANC councillors in the municipalities on Wednesday.
Nicole Graham, DA caucus leader in eThekwini said: “The Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption policy indicates certain processes that are meant to be followed in terms of how the City Integrity and Investigative Unit (CIIU) reports are meant to be handled. Our big issue at the moment is that we don’t believe that there has been proper consequence management and accountability for those who have done wrong.
“Nzuza definitely has a lot to answer for and everyone who has been involved in propping up the regime of Zandile Gumede needs to go.”
The Daily News reported last year that the city’s investigative unit was sitting with over 350 unattended cases.
At the time, an audit committee’s consolidated report presented to the executive committee revealed that only 16 of the 377 cases brought forward from the third quarter of that year were dealt with.
The report also revealed that implementation of the CIIU’s recommendations were delayed.
The IFP’s Mdu Nkosi said: “He is the head of administration and he has failed dismally to play his administrative role.”
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said: “Remember that Nzuza is an employee of the municipality (different from councillors such as Gumede and Mthembu who are political deployees and who are deployed or recalled at the behest of their political masters).
“As such he is subject to the terms and conditions of his employment contract, including the appropriate disciplinary processes if he is found to be guilty of misconduct or an offence,” provincial manager Tim Tyrrell said.