Cape Town – The proverbial knives are out for the DA’s interim leader in the Western Cape after an axed municipal employee was appointed in the position of Kannaland’s municipal manager.
The ANC’s leader of the opposition in the Western Cape, Cameron Dugmore, has accused Tertius Simmers of pushing for the appointment of George Municipality’s former chief financial officer, Keith Jordaan.
“We have evidence that the DA leader in the province, Tertius Simmers, pushed for the appointment ... the public protector is busy investigating this complaint against Simmers for breaching the code of ethics applicable to members of the executive,” said Dugmore, adding that the MEC for local government, Anton Bredell, was also to blame.
“MEC Bredell has the responsibility of oversight of local government to ensure good governance ... Under his watch he has allowed the Kannaland Municipality to appoint Keith Jordaan, who was dismissed from the George Municipality for maladministration and the illegal investment of over R300 million of municipal funds into Old Mutual.
“I challenge Bredell to set aside the appointment of the discredited Jordaan,” said Dugmore.
Simmers told Weekend Argus that the allegations were baseless.
“What I will not be doing is give oxygen to some desperate political witch-hunt... The DA never approached Keith Jordaan to become the acting municipal manager of Kannaland, and Jordaan will confirm this.
“Some conversations clearly miscarried ... Jordaan’s name is in play, and received mention in conversations, because Jordaan featured in a much earlier council item proposed by another political party in the Kannaland Council – an item not supported by the DA councillor.”
Simmers said Jordaan was on record that not Simmers, nor any other DA official, had ever approached him to take up the position of acting municipal manager in Kannaland.
“I did provide guidance to the DA’s Kannaland caucus, including councillor Alettha Steenkamp, and her constituency head, Eleanore Bouw-Spies, MP, and the chair of the DA’s East Region, Venolea Fortuin, that Ian Avontuur was to be removed without delay.”
Back in August, Jordaan hit back at reports that the DA had engaged him to become acting municipal manager of Kannaland. But two months later he was elected to that same position after the municipality passed a vote of no confidence against its mayor, deputy mayor and municipal manager.
Simmers highlighted the fact that the DA councillor was not present at the meeting that appointed Jordaan.
This saw the coveted mayoral chain handed to Jeffrey Donson of the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa), with the same party’s Werner Meshoa re-elected as deputy mayor.
In January, Meshoa, together with Donson, were ousted from the very positions they have now been re-elected to. This after it emerged that the pair had previous convictions for fraud in Meshoa’s case and statutory rape in Donson’s case.
Donson was convicted in 2008 for the rape of a then 15-year-old.
Attempts to reach Jordaan for comment were unsuccessful.
Weekend Argus