Knysna acting municipal manager Boy Manqoba Ngubo’s urgent application challenging local government MEC Anton Bredell’s decision on his appointment has been struck from the Western Cape high court roll with costs.
The court heard Ngubo’s urgent application on September 2. Judge Deidre Susan Kusevitsky delivered her order on September 4.
The court found that the matter did not warrant urgent consideration and struck the application from the roll with costs.
The order did not determine the merits of Ngubo’s challenge to Bredell’s decision.
The dispute centres on Ngubo’s continued appointment as acting municipal manager of Knysna municipality.
A council resolution on April 30 appointed Ngubo to act as municipal manager for three months from May 6, or until the matter involving suspended municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba was resolved, whichever came first.
Mapholoba was suspended in February over issues relating to a security tender.
While the initial three-month acting appointment did not require Bredell’s approval, any extension required the MEC’s concurrence.
Bredell had warned Knysna mayor Thando Matika and the council that Ngubo could not continue acting in the position without his approval.
In a letter to Matika dated August 5, Bredell said he had concerns about the legality of Ngubo continuing in the position without his concurrence.
Despite this, Matika extended Ngubo’s contract after the initial acting period.
Bredell refused to approve the extension, citing serious allegations and findings involving Ngubo arising from an investigation at Bitou municipality, as well as a Hawks investigation.
Bredell said he had repeatedly urged the Knysna council to consider the substance of the allegations before seeking an extension of Ngubo’s appointment.
“I requested the council to have regard to the substance of the very serious allegations made against Mr Ngubo as this would be a highly relevant factor for the council in seeking any extension,” Bredell said.
He said the council had made no concerted effort to establish the facts surrounding the allegations before deciding to request the extension.
“The integrity of an appointee to a position of municipal manager or even a temporary acting municipal manager should be beyond reproach,” Bredell said.
“For me this is of fundamental importance when I assess whether an extension of an acting appointment is to be approved.”
Knysna municipality spokesperson Nwabisa Pondoyi said Ngubo had instituted legal proceedings against Bredell in two parts.
The first sought to have the matter heard urgently.
The second sought a review of Bredell’s decision to rely on the BCHC report, which followed an assessment conducted at Bitou municipality on November 15 2024.
“The application for urgency was dismissed, as the judge determined that the matter did not warrant urgent consideration,” Pondoyi said.
“However, the review application has not yet been heard and is scheduled to be heard in October.”
She said Ngubo remained acting municipal manager in the interim because his contract remained valid.
“His appointment will remain in effect unless and until it is set aside by a court.”
“This forms part of the relief sought by MEC Bredell in part B of the proceedings,” Pondoyi said.
Pondoyi said the municipality had also resolved to institute review proceedings against Bredell over his decision on Ngubo’s extension.
Bredell, however, maintained that both the investigation report into Ngubo by Bradley Conradie Halton Cheadle Attorneys and an internal Bitou municipality memorandum contained serious findings and allegations against him.
“It is in this context that I refused my concurrence,” Bredell said.
Details on the serious findings are uncertain at this stage.