Six senior officials at the Bushbuckridge Municipality in Mpumalanga are facing disciplinary action after a report by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka revealed a corrupt hiring process.
According to the report, two people — Pawngeorge Zwane and Tshwarelo Kgwedi — were given administrative clerk jobs even though they didn’t meet the minimum requirements.
Zwane was hired as an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) administration clerk, but he had no experience or qualification in that field. Kgwedi was hired as a Human Resources (HR) administration clerk even though she didn’t have a matric certificate, which was a required qualification.
The Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Demawusa) had warned the former municipal manager, Cynthia Nkuna, about rumours that the hiring process had been rigged. They even gave her a note on the day of the interviews, but the appointments went ahead anyway.
Zwane later admitted that he didn’t have experience in OHS. Kgwedi submitted an N3 certificate, but the Public Protector found that it was not the same as a matric, as required by the job post.
The Public Protector said that the interview scoring patterns suggested the panel may have worked together to favour certain candidates. She concluded that the panel’s actions showed unfairness, poor ethics, and a lack of transparency.
Nkuna said she received the warning note but claimed she didn’t look at it. However, she also did nothing to stop the process.
The Public Protector ordered Executive Mayor Lydia Moroane to present the report to the council and take legal steps to undo the unfair appointments.
Municipal Manager Jasper Ngobeni was told to discipline the six officials and ensure HR staff receive proper training on ethical hiring.
Municipal spokesperson Fhumulani Thovakale confirmed the matter is being taken seriously. She said the disciplinary board would review the report and advise on next steps, including whether to go to court or follow all of the Public Protector’s recommendations.