Former Cape Town city manager Wallace Mgoqi went to court on Tuesday to try to reverse the Democratic Alliance-led council’s refusal to extend his contract.
African National Congress (ANC) councillors and functionaries turned out in support of Mgoqi at the Cape High Court.
Peter Gabriel, the ANC’s chief whip in the city, said outside the court that his party wanted to show solidarity with Mgoqi.
”The way he has been treated and the manner by which the DA acted against him is unsatisfactory and unfair.
”It has generally been in poor taste and created the impression that the city’s decision [led then by ANC mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo] to extend his contract was done illegally.”
The DA contends that Mfeketo’s unilateral decision to extend Mgoqi’s contract was illegal.
Gabriel said the ANC was of the opinion that his appointment was done legally and that the DA, under new mayor Helen Zille, could have removed him in a ”fair and humane manner”.
”They have treated him with great disrespect,” Gabriels said, adding that, as a consequence, the focus on delivery had shifted in a city characterised by instability.
A full bench of the court will hear argument, as Mgoqi seeks legal redress in a bid to overturn the council’s decision to revoke a one-year extension of his contract.
He has diligently been going to the office despite the presence of a DA-installed acting manager. – Sapa