The Knynsa municipality will have to fork out R90,000 to house an acting chief financial officer from out of town as it lacks suitable candidates from within.
The deviation was debated at a special council meeting on Thursday, with acting municipal manager Johannes Jonkers describing the need to finance the stay of Londiwe Sotshede as a “special circumstance”.
It was endorsed by all parties.
Since the departure of former CFO Mbulelo Memani in 2020 and former municipal manager Dr Sitembele Vatala in 2021, the municipality has had to appoint acting officials from outside the Garden Route region on short-term contracts, according to the council report.
“Having regard to the unprecedented situation the Knysna municipality find itself in, this unique situation demands that consideration be made for the costs of settling of the acting CFO for the period appointed by the council,” the report states.
On August 17, a letter was sent to the MEC for local government, environmental affairs and development planning Anton Bredell to ask for financial assistance for the accommodation, but no response was received.
“The short-term appointment of the incumbent is the main contributor causing her to find herself in a situation of not being able to secure an affordable accommodation but must resort to expensive hotels and bed and breakfasts.
“Knysna is again [looking] to lose another acting CFO as the result of expensive accommodation.”
Sotshede previously held the position of finance manager at the Langeberg municipality until February 2017 and most recently as the CFO of the Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal until February 2022.
She was appointed to act as CFO on August 12 after the ANC and EFF petitioned the speaker to call a meeting for her appointment to be endorsed.
Luvuyo Loliwe, acting director for corporate services, has also been seconded from the Bitou municipality.
Insiders say the appointments are in line with a pact made by the ANC and EFF as they gear up to remove the DA and Knysna Independent Movement from power at an upcoming council meeting.
The DA has eight seats in the 21-seat council, the ANC seven, the Knysna Independent Movement two, Patriotic Alliance two and the EFF and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (which votes with the ANC) one each.
The DA-led coalition has a combined 10 seats in the council with the Knysna Independent Movement, but the coalition was supported previously by the EFF.
In June, the EFF tried to submit motions of no confidence against mayor Levael Davis, deputy mayor Mark Willemse, speaker Julie Lopes and the council’s whip Hilton Stroebel.
The motions were seconded by the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners and the ANC.
However, the motions were not entertained by Lopes due to rules of order.
Lopes said the motion would have to be resubmitted.
“We have a meeting scheduled for August 31 but they have not filed anything, but I am expecting something before then,” she said.
ANC councillor Thando Matika said the motions would be filed next week.
At Thursday’s meeting, Jonkers said the expenditure was brought to the council as there was no relevant policy to deal with it.
“Legislation is also quiet about it because the circumstances are unique,” Jonkers said.
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