SENIOR municipal managers who are unqualified and unable to do their jobs could soon find themselves out in the cold.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan wants their appointments declared invalid.

Speaking in Port Elizabeth yesterday, Gordhan said the capacity-building industry was raking in between R2-billion and R4-billion a year to help train up municipal staff because officials and politicians made wrong appointments.

"You can't be qualified as a pharmacist and expected to be able to do an electrician's job," he said. "My harsh view is if you employ someone who is not fit for the job, there is no point in trying to build [his or her] capacity.

"We must ask ourselves serious questions about the amount of capacity we do have in municipalities."

Gordhan was speaking at the conference on the Emerging Views on the Eastern Cape economy held at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University north campus yesterday.

His comments come a month after auditor-general Kimi Makwetu said Eastern Cape municipalities were run by accounting officers who did not meet the minimum requirements for their jobs.

Makwetu said in his report that 13 municipal managers, 17 supply chain managers and 17 chief financial officers in the province did not meet minimum competency levels issued by the national Treasury in June 2007.

 The Nelson Mandela Bay council appointed corporate services boss Mod Ndoyana in December last year, but his employment officially started in February, on the condition that he completed the national Treasury's requirements of personal development courses which he lacked for the job.

His probation period had to be extended by six months after he failed to complete all the courses set out in his contract.

By the end of August, he had completed seven modules and had eight courses to finish.

 Last year, the council approved the appointment of national Treasury official Kumaran Nair as the municipality's chief financial officer even though he had not completed his diploma in finance and accounting and did not meet the minimum requirements for a REPORT CONTINUES: P2.

Article by: Rochelle De Kock.

Article Source:HERALD (Morning Final)