Notyawa v Makana Municipality and Others

In November 2014 Makana Municipality advertised the post of municipal manager. Mr Mbulelo Paul Gladstone Notyawa, then a municipal councillor, applied and was shortlisted, interviewed, and ultimately appointed by the municipal council in March 2015. As required by section 54A of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, the appointment was reported to the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs: Eastern Cape. The MEC concluded that Mr Notyawa did not meet the prescribed statutory requirements, particularly the required senior management experience within a municipal administration, and directed that the post be re-advertised. The municipality accepted this position and did not proceed with the appointment. Mr Notyawa launched various review and interdict applications over an extended period but failed to prosecute them diligently. Nearly two years after the impugned decisions, he brought a further application seeking rescission of the decision to re-advertise the post and a declaration that his appointment was lawful. The High Court dismissed the application due to unreasonable and unexplained delay and refused condonation. Mr Notyawa sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The application for leave to appeal was dismissed.

The case affirms the strict approach South African courts take to unreasonable delay in review proceedings, both under PAJA and the principle of legality. It reinforces the narrow scope for appellate interference with a lower court’s discretionary refusal to condone delay and clarifies that characterising a review as 'common law' does not avoid constitutional and statutory review frameworks. The judgment also underscores the importance of compliance with section 54A of the Municipal Systems Act in municipal appointments.