Junior Lekwa Manager in hot water
STANDERTON - He is very new to the municipality and he only received his first salary on 20 January, but the new manager in the office of the Executive Mayor, has already landed himself in hot water. He was reportedly handed a letter of intension to place him on suspension on Thursday, 19 January. The letter of intension was instituted by the manager of Labour Relations, Mr Sipho Mkhwanazi.
The accused has been asked to state reasons why he should not be suspended. This comes as the result of a letter that the accused wrote and eventually signed. The letter, at the centre of the dispute, was written for a student bursary applicant for registration at the Durban University of Technology on Monday, 16 January. Sources in the municipality claim that the accused knew the applicant, but the applicant was introduced to the accused by an official of the municipality who is directly responsible to handle bursary applications.
The official allegedly requested the accused to draft a letter of an offer on his behalf because he did not have a template in his office. He further assured the accused that although the closing date for bursary applications is only on 27 January - this has been given preference due to the time frame for registration and the Executive Mayor is aware of the urgent process. Sources have revealed that the accused believed his colleague and drafted a letter. Once the letter was drafted, the official further persuaded the accused to sign the letter as he - the official - cannot be the originator and payer of the registration fee at the same time. So in essence the accused authorized the payment of the R3 500 registration fee, which in terms of the Systems Act, Structures Act and the Municipal Financial Management Act only the Municipal Manager, as an accounting officer, has the power to authorize.
It has emerged that the Executive Mayor was not aware of the matter and when the letter was drafted in that haste, the Mayor was out of town. Sources claim that the accused is convinced that he was betrayed by his trusted colleague and he framed him to get into trouble. Both the official and the accused are known to the media and Cosmos News is in possession of the letter. The media will follow this case closely.
