Pretoria - Former Nelson Mandela Bay municipal manager Johann Mettler is being tipped to become the next city manager of Tshwane.
Executive mayor Randall Williams is expected to table a council report pertaining to Mettler’s proposed appointment during an ordinary council sitting on Thursday.
Williams will seek council approval for the appointment for the position, left vacant for almost three years following the departure of former city manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola.
Mosola left amid a debacle over a controversial project management contract awarded to GladAfrica engineering company in 2017. Both the City and the entity opted to mutually terminate the contract, which the auditor-general flagged as being irregular.
Acting city manager Mmaseabata Mutlaneng, who was also contesting for the position, failed to make the cut.
Mutlaneng ascended to the position during the period when Tshwane was placed under administration by the ANC-led Gauteng provincial executive committee in March 2020.
The Pretoria News has seen the council report prepared by acting chief of staff Jordan Griffiths regarding Mettler’s pending appointment. “The purpose of the report is to obtain approval from council for the appointment of Mr Johann Mettler in the position of city manager, in accordance with Government Notice 21: Gazette Number 37245 of 2014, Local Government: Municipal Systems Act (32/2000): Local Government: Regulations on appointment and conditions of employment of senior managers,” the report said.
The report further gave details that Mettler and four other candidates were shortlisted from 139 applicants for interviews on June 3, and recommended that in the event that Mettler declined the offer, the council should consider Odette Ramsingh for the post and Musawakhe Khumalo as a third option.
Ramsingh is executive director of the human resource department at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University while Khumalo is the metro’s group head for shared services.
EFF Tshwane regional chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu said his party was “vehemently opposed to” Mettler's imminent appointment.
He cited as reasons for rejecting the appointment “criticism of unprofessional and unethical conduct levelled against Mr Mettler with his previous employer”.
Pretoria News