DA supports Tshwane municipal manager amid ANC's challenge
Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler has faced criticism from the ANC over his 2022 appointment, which they claim was unlawful.
Image: File
The political battle over Tshwane municipal manager Johann Mettler's 2022 appointment is set to intensify in the coming weeks, with the DA backing him amid the ANC's continued efforts to have him removed over legality concerns.
The ANC plans to mount efforts to remove Mettler by having its councillors request Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana to convene a special council meeting to debate the validity of his appointment.
On Friday, ANC regional secretary George Matjila said the party will also push for a council resolution to file a court application seeking a declaratory order to declare Mettler's appointment unlawful and have it set aside.
In response, the DA is consulting lawyers to act against such an attempt and has called on Mayor Nasiphi Moya to pronounce her stance on the latest attack to get rid of Mettler.
The ANC's attack on Mettler centres on three main grounds, which include his alleged lack of qualifications at the time of appointment in 2022, irregularities in the selection panel's composition, and his failure to acquire the required minimum competency levels within the 18-month period that ended on February 28, 2024.
“Therefore, the appointment of Mr Mettler as the City Manager is null and void and stands to be set aside in a competent court,” Matjila said.
Mettler is accused of lacking the requirement of 12 years' experience, with at least five years at a senior management level, as he has only 11 years' experience.
Matjila claimed that the selection panel's composition contravened the Municipal Systems Act, as it included four councillors instead of the prescribed maximum of two.
DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink dismissed the claims, highlighting Mettler's experience as municipal manager in Drakenstein and Nelson Mandela Bay.
He added that Mettler was also involved in drafting the White Paper on Local Government in the late 1990s, making him one of the most experienced local government practitioners still working.
Brink said Mettler possesses the minimum competencies required by the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and completed the necessary courses in 2023.
He noted that the National Treasury and the Finance Minister have never questioned Mettler's competencies under the MFMA.
Regarding the composition of the interview panel, Brink said the panel was in compliance with the regulations.
He said that if there had been any irregularity, the MEC for Local Government would have flagged it in 2022.
He said: “Whatever legal pretext the ANC coalition devises, the point is that the party would prefer one of their own deployed cadres, not an independent professional, in the job of municipal manager.”
Addressing rumours surrounding his potential dismissal last week, Mettler said: “I am, however, employed by the council and it is the council in the end that would have to make a decision, one way or the other. And they would have to do so on the basis of investigation and on the basis of facts and they have to be fair. That is a process in any event.”
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za