SUPPLIED
While turning things around at the uMngeni (Howick) municipality will be no mean feat, its new municipal manager Mpilo Ngubane (pictured), is confident he can meet the challenge.
KwaZulu-Natal – While turning things around at the uMngeni (Howick) municipality will be no mean feat, its new municipal manager, Mpilo Ngubane, is confident he can meet the challenge.
Ngubane started his new job on Monday, filling the position left vacant by Dumisani Vilakazi, who was dismissed in 2010.
With two doctoral degrees in public administration and administration and two Master’s degrees, including an MBA in the UK, Ngubane was previously employed as the municipal manager of the Mandeni municipality in Zululand.
The municipality has been without an administrative head for two years.
“The municipality is not yet financially stable, hence it struggles to meet its financial obligations including service delivery,” he said.
Ngubane conceded that running a municipality was not easy, but said the challenges could be overcome with commitment and teamwork from all role-players, including residents.
The uMngeni municipality has been in the spotlight for the past six years for illegally buying a R1.7 million house for its former mayor and then for paying what has been described as a “millionaire’s salary” to Vilakazi.
Former MEC for local government Mike Mabuyakhulu ordered a forensic investigation into the municipality which recommended both disciplinary action and a criminal inquiry against senior managers, including Vilakazi.
But the council did not accept the outcome of the investigation and instituted its own probe which cleared the managers of wrongdoing.
Faced with two reports and no resolution on allegations about wasteful spending, the provincial government initiated an inquiry, which sat on and off for about a year from July 2010 to September 2011.
The findings of the inquiry are yet to be released. – The Mercury
Original post:
Municipal manager takes uMngeni reins