Niki Moore
The disgraced former deputy director general of the national Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Professor Musa Xulu, has turned up as the municipal manager of a small town in Zululand and is already causing havoc in his new job.
Xulu was fired from his arts and culture post in December last year. The department said at the time that Xulu was found guilty on a charge related to irregular tender procedures. The officer presiding over the disciplinary hearing recommended that Xulu be discharged from the public service.
However, in his new job in the troubled town of Mandeni on the Zululand south coast, Xulu has negotiated an inflated salary, a personal loan of R12 000 and a car allowance of R320 000. He has also redeployed experienced staff into non-existent posts.
The Mandeni Ratepayers’ Association is up in arms over his appointment. “When Xulu’s name was first proposed as municipal manager,” said ratepayers’ association chairperson Cobus Henning, “I telephoned the mayor and told him to be careful if he appointed this person. I told him there would be conflict in the management structure of the munici- pality if this man was given the job.”
When the ratepayers’ association was told that Xulu had in fact been appointed, it requested an interview with mayor Makhosonke Ntuli, but the request was allegedly ignored. The association then called an urgent meeting to discuss the matter. Neither Ntuli nor Xulu turned up.
Asked to comment, Ntuli said the council was not made aware during the selection process of Xulu’s chequered career. “All I know is that he was a professor at the University of Zululand [another previous post] and that he has done some teaching,” said Ntuli. He expressed surprise at the fact that Xulu had been dismissed from his previous job.
But an official within the council, who requested anonymity, said Xulu’s appointment was irregular from the start. “According to the job specifications, the applicant had to have at least five years’ experience in municipal management. Musa Xulu has none. His name was not on the shortlist of candidates. And he is being paid far more than his regulated salary scale. His position carries a salary scale of R280 000 per year [but] Xulu is being paid about R400 000.”
Asked to comment, Xulu said he did not disclose his dismissal from the arts and culture department in his curriculum vitae because he has challenged it: “I took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration where it is currently being investigated. I did not think it was necessary to include this. It has got nothing to do with my new job.”
He had a ready explanation for his unusual fees: “The personal loan of R12 000 was an advance on my salary as the contract had not been signed by the end of the month.” Xulu did not deny the R400 000 salary figure: “There is no fixed salary scale for municipal managers and therefore I was able to negotiate my package according to what I am worth and what my needs are. The R320 000 for my car was a deal I negotiated with the council.”
Council members said they were not aware of these deals.
Mandeni’s town management has lurched from crisis to crisis since local government elections last December. A power struggle over the post of mayor held up governance for six months. Once the political crisis had been resolved, the town was plunged into controversy again when Eskom threatened to switch off the power due to an unpaid bill.
The area, south of Richards Bay, was extensively developed in the 1980s as an industrial node. It has been a flashpoint for political violence and faction fighting. Council coffers are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Against this background, the position of municipal manager is crucial. “We don’t understand why, if Xulu has no experience, he is being paid so much,” said one disgruntled council employee.
“And why does he need a R320 000 car? He could do exactly the same job in a Toyota Corolla.”