Today the Democratic Alliance has opened a case against Amathole District Municipal Manager, Thandekile Mnyimba, for allegedly making fraudulent representations regarding his senior qualifications when applying for his job.

Mnyimba has long been a thorn in the side of good governance and is a clear example of everything that is wrong with the ANC’s cadre deployment programme.

It has come to light that the senior certificate which Mnyimba allegedly provided to the Amathole District Municipality when he applied for the position in 2017, and which the Amathole District Municipality allegedly has on file, contains glaring errors relating to his identity number, which starts with 1992. The document also indicates that the certificate was issued in 1992, the same year that Mnyimba was allegedly born.

See certificate

Should it be found that Mnyimba has falsified his certificate, not only has he contravened National Qualifications Framework Act 12 of 2019, he has also defrauded the people of Amathole out of R2.3 million per annum by drawing a salary to which he is simply not entitled.

As far back as 2012, the Western Cape High Court found that Mnyimba, who had then just been appointed as Oudshoorn Municipal Manager, was not qualified for the position and declared his appointment null and void.

Serious questions have to be asked about the vetting process conducted by the Amathole District Municipality when doing their due diligence, when they appointed Mnyimba back in 2017, and when they decided to reappoint him this year.

Back when Mnyimba was initially appointed to the position, the DA pointed out that the man did not meet the prerequisite skills set out in the Municipal Management Finance Áct and raised concerns about his fraudulent qualifications.

This is a clear case of the ANC deciding to appoint an individual to a position of power, who clearly does not belong there, putting their own self-interests above those of the people they are meant to serve.

It is no surprise that the municipality is in the state it is in, or that just last week Mnyimba was handed a three-month suspended sentence for ignoring a court order after being dragged to court by Amathole employees.

The DA will continue to fight for the end of cadre deployment and ensure that people are appointed based on their ability to do the work, not their political connections.