The Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality council (CALM) appointed Ephraim Thabethe as the Municipal Manager, effective 06 June.
The spokesperson for CALM, Phetla Thapelo, said the position of municipal manager has been vacant since the contract of the former MM Mandla Dlamini expired in April 2022. “The Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi has been acting in the position ,he had officially handed over everything to Thabethe as he will take responsibility for being the accounting officer for the Municipality,” he said.
Thabethe brings with him a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience in local government leadership. He joins CALM,after serving as the General Manager of Infrastructure and Technical Services in Gert Sibande District Municipality. He previously worked as a Deputy Director in the department of Technical Services AT CALM whilst completing his Master of Science in Project Management at the University of Liverpool (UK), moreover, he completed a course in Municipal Finance Management Program, to mention a few.
The Executive Mayor, Daniel Nkos,i welcomed the appointment of the municipal manager by the Council and said his appointment would continue to bring stability to the municipal administration. “Thabethe has demonstrated his ability to turn around municipal administration and we are hopeful that he will exercise his duties as the accounting officer with utmost diligence,” he said.
The Speaker of the Council, Cllr. Sibongile Ginindza, wished the new MM well in his new role and appealed to all municipality employees and stakeholders to give him the necessary support to carry out his new responsibility.
Moreover, the Whip of Council Cllr Lindi Sidu, congratulated Thabethe and emphasized the municipal wish to get a Clean Audit Opinion from the Auditor General. Further thanked the CFO Mr Mnisi for the outstanding job when he was asked to be the acting Municipal Manager
