Public Protector's report reviewed

GEORGE NEWS - A report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in which she asks George Council to consider taking disciplinary action against the Municipal Manager Trevor Botha for an "unlawful appointment", has been taken off the shelf.

Council's decision earlier this year not to take disciplinary steps against Botha will be discussed in due course by Madonsela herself, Premier Helen Zille and Anton Bredell, minister of local government. The report, titled 'Out of the Blue' was released in December last year.

In her findings Madonsela recommends that disciplinary action be taken against Botha for failure to adhere to the prescribed George Municipality Appointment Policy in the appointment of the Area Coordinator in Touwsranten. She states that the appointment of Patrick Buys as the Touwsranten area coordinator was "a breach of the municipal appointment policy".

A message from Madonsela

Jakobus Vaas, a senior official in local national government who was previously interested in the position, originally brought the issue to Madonsela's attention. In an e-mail correspondence to Vaas two weeks ago, the office of the Public Protector informed him that "the implementation of the remedial action taken on this report is currently in progress".

The e-mail reads as follows: "The Public Protector has currently requested for a meeting between herself, the Premier of the Western Cape and Minister Bredell to discuss the matter. We are currently awaiting the availability of all the required parties to set a suitable date for the said meeting. You will be informed of any further developments regarding the outcome of the implementation progress."

When approached for comment, Botha said that the process to fill the post in Touwsranten is underway. "The post was advertised and the recruitment company is busy with the process to fill the position. I don't want to comment on the Public Protector's e-mail correspondence."

What is all the fuss about?

It was alleged that the post for the area coordinator in Touwsranten was not advertised, selection and interview processes were not followed, the person appointed did not meet the requirements of the post, and that there was political interference.

Buys's appointment was made on a temporary contractual basis for a six-month period which started in September 2011 and was indefinitely extended on a month-to-month basis. According to Buys, who says he finished Grade 9, he never lied about his credentials when he applied for the position. The report also refers to an allegation of political interference by the mayor's office.

"Although there was no evidence of interference from the mayor's office, the manner of the appointment lent itself to an investigation into the nature of the relationship that existed between [Buys] and the various people involved in his appointment," reads her report.

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ARTICLE: MICHELLE PIENAAR, GEORGE HERALD - JOURNALIST.

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