Councillors in Msunduzi Municipality have launched an investigation into allegations that interview scores for a deputy municipal manager position were tampered with.
During a special council meeting on Friday, councillors were informed that scores for interviews to appoint a deputy city manager for the community services unit had been tampered with, and recordings of the interviews had initially gone missing.
Councillors, who spoke to The Mercury on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the matter, said the council viewed the allegations seriously and the interview process was halted until the investigation is completed.
One councillor said: "There are serious allegations here; one member of the interview panel found that her score had been tampered with for one of the candidates. Several candidates were interviewed, and when the recordings of the interviews were requested, they could not be located. However, when a fuss was made about the matter, the recording suddenly reappeared. A decision has been made to halt the interview process until the investigation determines what exactly happened regarding the tampering with the scores and the disappearance and reappearance of the recordings," said the councillor.
Another councillor, who was also part of the meeting, confirmed what transpired. The councillor indicated that there may have been political interference in the attempt to fill the vacancy.
“Yes, we were briefed that the interview scores had been tampered with. The position of the administration was that the process must just be started afresh, and we objected to that, stating that it was no longer good enough. It seems someone in HR or elsewhere had a candidate they wanted to favour because three of the candidates competing for the post are from the municipality. That is why we said everything must be stopped, and an investigation must be conducted into all these shenanigans that unfolded. Only after the investigation has determined what exactly happened can we then move forward with the interviewing process.”
Another councillor said, “We are shocked at the revelation of interference in the selection process of the DMM (deputy municipal manager) Community Services. The scorecards were tampered with, the documents related to the process went missing, and the tape recordings could not be located. We demand an immediate halt to the process until the investigation has been completed. It is unacceptable that there is no security for highly sensitive and confidential documentation that will seriously compromise the selection process and further delay the proper manning of a department that is in a state of chaos.
"We call for the acting Municipal Manager to be held responsible and disciplinary measures to be instituted, and the municipality to be rid of these incompetent and corrupt officials. We will ensure that the responsible individuals are prosecuted.”
Municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize confirmed that an investigation is underway.
“The municipality can confirm that the process to permanently fill the Deputy Municipal Manager position for Community Safety is currently the subject of an internal investigation. As such, we are unable to comment on the specifics of the matter at this stage. The municipality takes any allegation of procedural irregularities very seriously, and the integrity of recruitment processes remains a top priority. Once the investigation is concluded, further details will be made available based on its findings.”