Councillors question suspension of Nelson Mandela Bay traffic chief

The plethora of allegations levelled against Nelson Mandela Bay’s director for traffic and licensing, Warren Prins, are a ploy to eliminate him from being in the running for acting executive director for safety and security.

Opposition councillors have levelled this accusation after Prins was suddenly charged with gross misconduct and subsequently placed on precautionary suspension on 13 November, pending an investigation.

As one of the most senior officials in the safety and security directorate, Prins’ name was earmarked for inclusion among those eligible for the acting executive director position.

This comes after the council requested on 28 October that the item on the appointment of acting executive directors be referred back to include more names.

Current acting executive director Shadrack Sibiya, who is employed as head of facilities management, has been occupying the position for about 17 months and is therefore not eligible for reappointment.

According to Section 56 of the Municipal Systems Act, any acting appointment exceeding three months without concurrence from the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) is illegal.

“Acting appointments for senior managers may only last three months, extendable by the MEC for Cogta for a further three months, with a maximum period of six months.

“Any appointment beyond this statutory period is unlawful and any decisions taken during such period may be invalid and challengeable.”

Suspension notice

Prins was served with a notice of intention to suspend by Sibiya, giving him 48 hours to state why he should not be suspended.

In the letter, Sibiya accused Prins of an avalanche of transgressions related to fraud, including that his authority was being undermined, and insubordination.

However, councillors have defended Prins, whose role in the city since his appointment in 2016 has helped yield positive results for the metro.

Some of the projects spearheaded by Prins during his tenure include the reduction of queues at service centres, the establishment of the Motherwell Traffic and Licensing Centre, the introduction of card payment systems and the expansion of operational capacity across the city.

In the notice, Sibiya accused Prins of testifying on 20 June for fellow staff at the Local Government Bargaining Council, thereby acting against his managerial responsibility, authority and without approval.

“Your conduct and action have put the name of the municipality in disrepute and compromised the administration of the directorate,” Sibiya wrote.

“Further, you allegedly fraudulently facilitated and instructed the metro’s college officials to process for acceptance the application of a student enrolment for basic traffic officer course, when you knew that the student did not meet the requirements of acceptance in line with the municipal policy and the guidelines of Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).”

Instruction ‘defied’

Sibiya said Prins defied his instruction by expelling three employees from the traffic college, and directed a college official to subject them to driving lessons.

“The said employees were not supposed to have been examined for drivers’ licences, after I specifically instructed you not to. By doing so, you committed an act of insubordination.

“Further, you allegedly gave instruction to traffic college staff to expel three employees from the traffic college based on a non-existent requirement or rule, which you knew would lead to financial loss for the municipality for the repeat of the training, which they did not fail.”

Sibiya alleged that on 19 September, Prins wrote a motivation to an interview panel to deviate from the city’s employment equity targets to administer the process for the position of principal clerk for finance, when he was not one of the panellists.

“Your actions when you wrote the recommendation letter to the panel is seen as an attempt to influence the panel and sway the outcome of the panel to appoint your preferred candidate who was not within the employment equity target group of the municipality,” Sibiya alleged.

“Your conduct is perceived as interference that was intended to compromise the process that is supposed to be neutral, unbiased, and fair.

“On or about 2 May 2024, you allegedly signed off the suspension letter and suspended a former employee of the directorate, without following proper procedure and authorisation in terms of the delegation of authority.”

Prins responds

Prins confirmed to the Daily Maverick last week that he responded in writing on 15 November, but would not divulge the contents of his letter; instead, he released a statement on the matter.

“I acknowledge the municipality’s decision to place me on precautionary suspension. I respect the established procedures and will cooperate fully with the internal processes currently under way,” Prins said in the statement.

“In the interest of fairness and to safeguard the integrity of the investigation, I will not be commenting on the details at this time.

“I remain confident that, as the facts are thoroughly and fairly examined, my name will be cleared.”

Some councillors rebuked Prins’ suspension, saying he was pushed out of the municipality to automatically disqualify him from possibly being appointed as the acting executive director.

DA councillor Gustav Rautenbach said he was shocked to learn about Prins’ suspension, as the directorate under his leadership performed better than most.

“When he acted as executive director in the 2024/25 financial year, the capital expenditure had improved, but it currently sits at 22% under Sibiya,” Rautenbach said.

“The DA asked the acting city manager [Lonwabo Ngoqo] in the last council meeting that the item for the appointments to return to his office for more names to be submitted because some that were brought to council are of people who have acted for longer periods than permitted.

“No approval from the Cogta MEC was sought and no proof of record of concurrence had been received.”

‘Why now?’

Good party councillor Lawrence Troon said it was surprising that allegations from as far back as 2024 were being dealt with now.

“Which begs the question, why now?” Troon said.

“Sibiya has no locus standi to suspend Prins because he is occupying that position illegally. Sibiya has been acting for more than a year, and the Municipal Systems Act only permits acting for a period of six months; anything beyond this needs to be approved by the MEC.

“Prins has been suspended so that by the time he returns to work, the appointments would have been done and he will miss out because he is one of the people who was earmarked for the position.”

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said Prins was suspended for the decisions he had taken in the directorate to root out corruption, and for applying for the acting executive director post.

“Sibiya is not the most experienced person in the department – he got the acting role because Prins did not apply the last time it was advertised, but this time, he applied, and when names for the position [that] were taken to council were turned back, that’s when some felt the pressure and acted against him.

‘Not surprising’

“They know, as one of the most senior staff in the department, he is likely to get the appointment. Therefore, it’s not surprising that all these allegations are coming now, when they could have been dealt with when they occurred,” Grootboom said.

When contacted for comment, Sibiya referred questions to the communications department. “Please refer your query to the director for communication, who is delegated to speak for the institution.”

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya confirmed Prins’ precautionary suspension.

“This step ensures that the internal investigation proceeds independently and without any interference, in line with our commitment to clean, ethical and accountable governance,” Soyaya said.

“As this matter is currently under investigation, and certain elements may involve external law-enforcement agencies, the municipality is not in a position to discuss the specifics. We must respect due process and avoid any comments that could prejudice ongoing proceedings.

“What we can assure the public is that this administration takes allegations of wrongdoing seriously. We act firmly within the law, we follow the evidence, and we prioritise the integrity of our institutions.” DM