26 Jun 2018

A North West District Council meeting was on Monday adjourned as councillors could not agree on the replacement of the outgoing council secretary.

Some councillors insisted that the business of the council be deferred until the replacement of the council secretary, while others called for the proceedings to continue as the issue was administrative and beyond their confines.

The issue arose after the council chairperson’s opening speech in which staff movements were presented as some councillors wanted to be briefed about the replacement of the outgoing council secretary, Mr Charles Amos, who has been transferred to the Southern District Council.

Some councillors insisted that the proceedings could not be conducted in the absence of the council secretary, despite explanations from some officials and some councillors that procedurally, when an officer was transferred, their immediate subordinate takes over while awaiting replacement. 

Earlier on, the deputy council secretary responsible for technical services, Mr Gobe Modongo had explained that initially, Mr Amos was supposed to swap with his counterpart from Southern District Council, who has since been transferred to the Ministry for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration. Mr Modongo said he would hold fort until the appointment of the new secretary. 

The explanation did not go down well with some councillors, who said that appointing the deputy council secretary to act would paralyse the system as he already had a lot on his plate.

Cllr Abel Molelo could not welcome the acting, saying that to add more to the deputy secretary’s responsibilities would be a burden. 

He cited delays in awarding of tenders, and some challenges in project implementation in the district as his reasons. 

Cllr Kenson Kgage concurred, stating that the district was lagging behind in developments due to incompetency of some officers. 

Those who insisted that the proceedings should continue argued that the political leaders were debating issues that were outside their scope as the recruitment process was done administratively.

They said they could not stop council business while there were deputies who could take over and run the council. 

Cllr Lathang Molonda advised councillors to stop making their interests a priority, but focus on the council mandate, which is to improve the quality of life for all through effective and efficient delivery of basic infrastructure and social services.

He said as political leaders, they had nothing to do with the hiring process as their objective was to drive development projects.

“During the absence of the council secretary, his deputies are there to continue where he left until the new one comes in. 

There is no how we can stop council business,” Cllr Molonda stressed. 

Cllr Reaboka Mbulawa shared the sentiments, noting that the outgoing council secretary did not take the office with him and as such those remaining could hold fort.

After a lengthy hot debate, the council chairperson, Mr Duncan Enga adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes and referred the issue to party caucuses, but the issue was not resolved at the end of the session.  

In an interview, Mr Enga revealed that they did not conclude the issue, but pointed out that the council session would continue while the issue awaited resolution. ENDS