Manager in hot water

13 July 2010 - 02:00
By Riot Hlatshwayo

THE Bushbuckridge municipality has set five days aside for the disciplinary hearing of its manager, Canzi Lisa.

Lisa is expected to appear before the disciplinary hearing from August 16 to 20 to face nine charges.

The allegations against Lisa include making over-payments to councillors, failing to complete a budget in time and delaying the appointments of service providers.

He is also accused of appointing certain service providers without following tender processes and supply chain management rules and regulations.

The delay of projects in the Bushbuckridge area has resulted in service delivery demonstrations against executive mayor Milton Morema by a group of people in ward 15 for several months.

The demonstrations took place before Lisa's suspension on May 31.

While Lisa is at the moment fighting for survival in the disciplinary hearing, a 10-year-old scandal in which he was accused of misusing funds when he was chief executive officer of the Greater Johannesburg city council in 1999 has come back to haunt him.

Sowetan can reveal that the Greater Johannesburg city council investigated Lisa after he undertook computer training lessons at a cost of R25000 and allegedly paid for them through a "rushed requisition" he had allegedly signed himself.

It was also reported at the time that the company concerned, Pumela Msweli and Associates, was not an information technology institution qualified for computer training purposes.

The Greater Johannesburg city council also investigated allegations that Lisa had failed to adhere to proper financial procedures of obtaining three quotes before making the "illegal payment" to Pumela Msweli and Associates.

Lisa confirmed the investigations against him.

"These (investigations) happened more than 10 years ago and have no bearing on my current status," Lisa said when contacted for comment,

"Over and above that the investigations did not get anywhere because I was innocent."

Bushbuckridge municipality spokesperson Matome Malatjie confirmed that Lisa's disciplinary hearing was scheduled for five days in August.

Malatjie said the municipality respected the right of any individual in its employ and would therefore not elaborate on the charges against Lisa at the moment.

"Our official position will be that the municipality has now issued charges to the municipal manager and he is scheduled to appear before an internal hearing from 16 to 20 August," Malatjie said.