By Bahle Gama
The matter of the newly appointed Municipality Council of Mbabane CEO Gciniwe Fakudze will return to court next Monday, August 5, 2024, for arguments.
This follows the Attorney General’s (AG) office’s failure to file responding papers in time resulting in the postponement as the matter was in court for arguments.
Appearing before the court on Monday, July 29, 2024, Mbuso Simelane from the AG’s office representing Fakudze told the court that he was yet to file affidavits from five councillors and needed time to do so.
Representing the applicants in the matter, Mangaliso Simelane argued that the AG’s office was supposed to treat the matter as urgent and file responses over the weekend.
However, it was resolved that this week will be used to do so in preparation for the arguments next Monday.
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The responding papers to be filed by the office concern a ‘grievance’ by some councillors including Mbabane Mayor Thulani Mkhonto who are against Fakudze’s appointment and opted to file an urgent application in this regard.
Early this month, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Apollo Maphalala appointed Fakudze after a protracted debacle between Mbabane Municipality’s councillors having gone back and forth in the recruitment of the new CEO.
After the recruitment process was conducted by SNG Grant Thornton, a report was forwarded to the councillors and what surprised many was that the councillors decided to go for the person, who according to the assessment, scored the lowest points.
The candidate is said to have scored less than 50 per cent while Fakudze scored over 80 per cent and she was on top of the candidate list.
Before the appointment, Maphalala had engagements with the councillors in a bid to forge a way forward in the recruitment of the new CEO, however, these were met with hurdles as some councillors were alleged to be against Fakudze’s appointment.
The Mbabane Mayor and some other councillors were reportedly not present when Fakudze was officially announced as the CEO.
During the unveiling, Maphalala announced that Fakudze will be responsible for steering the Council’s ship, effective from August 19, 2024, for five years.
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He acknowledged the hurdles that they faced in the recruitment of the CEO but said it was all necessary for the Ministry and the city council to get a proper candidate for the job.
The Minister further called upon the Mbabane business community to come on board and work with the new CEO in formulating strategies that will see the city being developed and businesses benefitting in terms of growth.
