Simvumile Mambafula v Alfred Nzo District Municipality

The Alfred Nzo District Municipality advertised the external post of Director: Corporate Services in June 2023 in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and applicable regulations. The applicant, Simvumile Mambafula, applied, was shortlisted, interviewed, and recommended for appointment by the interviewing panel in October 2023. Subsequently, the Executive Mayor reported alleged irregularities in the recruitment process to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and recommended that the process be nullified and the post re-advertised. Despite a later Mayoral Committee recommendation that the applicant be appointed, the MEC advised that the post be re-advertised. The Municipal Council resolved not to appoint the applicant and re-advertised the post without providing a substantiated investigative report on the alleged irregularities. The applicant urgently approached the High Court to review and set aside the decision and sought direct appointment.

The decision of the Alfred Nzo District Municipality not to appoint the applicant and to re-advertise the post was reviewed and set aside. The Court substituted the decision and ordered that the applicant be appointed as Director: Corporate Services with effect from March 2024, with salary commencing upon assumption of duties. The respondent was ordered to pay the costs of the application.

This judgment affirms that municipal decisions relating to the recruitment and appointment of senior managers under section 56 of the Municipal Systems Act constitute administrative action reviewable under PAJA. It reinforces the principle that municipal councils must act rationally, transparently, and on substantiated facts when exercising statutory appointment powers, and clarifies the distinction between administrative functions and excluded legislative or executive functions of municipal councils.