On Friday, August 12 2011, a special meeting of the Knysna Council ended the contract of Municipal Manager, Johnny Douglas.
Mayor Georlene Wolmarans said that this was an amicable agreement between both parties and that this allowed her to “pursue the new mandate of Council and to bring about stronger alignment between our political mandate and executive administrative leadership.”
Those who were angered by the Municipal Manager’s R98 000 per month salary will probably receive this as good news but questions do hang in the air. How much remuneration will Johnny Douglas will be receiving for this termination and how much will his successor earn? Additionally, political speech fails to explain the real process that lead to this action.
Lauren Waring, Director of Planning & Development, has been appointed as Acting Municipal Manager in the interim. This is likely to give the DA-led, Knysna Council, more control, especially in the broader context of the ongoing audit and the Anti-Fraud unit to be established later this month.
Whatever the reasoning and explanations, expect more heads to roll.
NB: The same day, 2 senior officials in the Eden District Municipality in the Western Cape were suspended for alleged mismanagement involving irregular staff appointments and failure to follow supply chain management procedures – read full article.
Plettenberg’s DA Mayor, Memory Booysen, was to hold a big meeting with municipal workers. This follows after their Municipal Manager was suspended. Unfortunately, n o details available.
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Hopefully they will now take a long hard look at the Oyster Walk development and the reasons Johnny Douglas had for pushing that one through. This despite the glaring evidence of maladministration, inappropriate and patently illegal transactions.
The birds always come out to play after the fact. Sure that we will be learning about misdeeds of many over the next year. If only the public and municipal staff would shrug off cowardice and fight for our town, their town, in the moment!
far too much of our rates and taxes are used for fat bums on seats. Wish the new council would not sign long term contracts with new municipal managers. They should have a 30 day notice period- so they can be fired easily if they are not performing. Why do the tax payers have to suck the hind tit all the time? each time the administration changes hands the existing municipal manager is fired, money is wasted. Is this a political position? It should not be. It is time for people to wake up and think creatively for the greater good, or we will ALL be suffering. I expect a helluva a lot from officials with this sort of salary.
Maylou, i expect so too. We have the right. Instead, we have leaders making decisions behind closed doors and all earning inflated pay packets that have little to do with a service to the community. There are so many complaints about the ANC (and i have mine too) but the DA has done nothing to gain faith. I’m interested in honesty, accountability, community interaction and overall action. In these tough times, those are the things that count more than ever.
Accountability would be nice. But I think honesty is taking it a click too far.