Hon Speaker, the Sunday's River Valley Municipality in citrus country in the Eastern Cape comprises, inter alia, the towns of Addo, Kirkwood and Paterson. The number of guesthouses in the picturesque town of Kirkwood attests to the thriving hub that this municipality was just over a year ago. That was before cadre deployment broke the back of the municipality.
Mr Siphiwe Sohena left the employ of the Nelson Mandela Municipality with the seriously tarnished reputation. He was then, amazingly, appointed as municipal manager of the Sunday's River Valley Municipality. Within a year he had turned a thriving rural community into a faction-based, bankrupt, potholed, near-disaster area with no one other than himself and those close to him benefiting.
Mr Sohena was subject to disciplinary procedures and was dismissed by the council after being found guilty of 11 counts of corruption and maladministration. The local council has accepted the offer of the MEC for local government to second an official from the district municipality to act as municipal manager, combined with a loan of R26 million to keep operations running. However, the ANC regional executive committee has rejected this and has redeployed Mr Sohena as municipal manager. Whether they have the power to do this is highly questionable.
Mr Sohena is back in his office. He has stated that only a cheque of R3 million for alleged wrongful dismissal and defamation will entice him to leave. He had demanded and obtained an additional R98 000 as payment for the three months that he was off after having been fired.
He is in his office and very few other seniors ... [Time expired.]