Truman Prince, the reinstated municipal manager of the Central Karoo district municipality, says he is ready to resume his duties in that local authority, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Friday.
The municipality decided to reinstate him in a meeting on Thursday following his dismissal on charges of sexual misconduct, including a Special Assignment television exposé of him flirting with teenage girls.
He appealed against his dismissal.
In 2005, a disciplinary probe had found Prince guilty on charges related to public misconduct in Laingsburg and two incidents in Beaufort West. He had also been expelled from the African National Congress after launching a campaign to oppose it in last year’s municipal elections.
A former mayor of Beaufort West, Prince hit the headlines in early 2005 when he featured in the Special Assignment documentary on child prostitution that showed him talking suggestively to young girls through his car window at night.
Following the announcement of Prince’s reinstatement this week, the Democratic Alliance instructed its executive councillors in the district to withdraw from their positions, as the party would not be part of a government where Prince was in a position of authority.
The DA’s provincial leader, Theuns Botha, said the decision means that a new mayoral committee needs to be elected. — Sapa