A struggling North West municipality has come under fire for attempting to hire a municipal manager based on allegedly doctored competency test results.
The Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality in Ganyesa was hauled to the North West High Court by unsuccessful candidate Tshepo Bloom after it appointed Eric Gaborone in November 2023.
Bloom told the High Court that the report was placed before the council even though it misrepresented the outcome of Gaborone’s true competency assessment.
According to Bloom, the assessments conducted by Gijima Holdings did not reflect that Gaborone was competent.
He said the selection panel presented an altered or falsified outcome and misled the council.
It is on this basis that Bloom sought to have Gaborone’s appointment set aside as unlawful, unreasonable, and procedurally unfair.
In response, Gaborone said Bloom lacked locus standi (standing) to restrain parties to the litigation and that a court-annexed mediation process cannot be interdicted in the absence of a substantive application.
Gaborone added that the legal action was based on inadmissible hearsay, opinion, speculation, and he characterises the evidence as “imaginary” documents that were never properly placed before the court.
Handing down her ruling on Friday, North West High Court Acting Judge Charlotte Oosthuizen-Senekal ruled that she considered the affidavits, submissions, and legal framework, and was satisfied that the impugned council resolution appointing Gaborone cannot stand.
“The decision of the council to appoint the third respondent (Gaborone) was taken on the basis of information that was either falsified or, at the very least, not the authentic record of the competency assessments conducted by Gijima,” reads the judgment.
Acting Judge Oosthuizen-Senekal found that the requirement that competency reports be accurately reflected and considered is not peripheral but is central to the legality of the appointment process.
She said the council and its decision were, therefore, irrational and unlawful, and offended the principle of legality.
However, the acting judge found that the recruitment process has been tainted by the presentation of reports that appear to have been altered or misrepresented, and by the failure of the council to interrogate the authenticity of the material before it.
She said these irregularities have eroded confidence in the integrity of the process.
Acting Judge Oosthuizen-Senekal reviewed and set aside the decision by the Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality council to appoint Gaborone as the municipal manager.
“The decision to appoint a municipal manager for Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality pursuant to the recruitment process that is the subject matter of this application is remitted to the municipal council, with a directive that the post of municipal manager be re-advertised and filled through a new recruitment process conducted in strict compliance with the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and the applicable regulations, and premised on authentic competency assessment reports,” the acting judge declared.
