- Solly Mogaladi has won his court bid to stop the Tshwane Economic Development Agency from re-advertising the CEO position.
- Mogaladi was appointed CEO by agency, but the City of Tshwane refused to ratify the decision.
- The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled the decision to re-advertise the post was irrational and invalid.
The head of the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (TEDA) has, after two years, won his court bid to halt the re-advertisement of his position.
Solly Mogaladi was appointed as TEDA CEO in 2015 on a five-year contract. In 2019, the position was re-advertised.
He applied for the position and was appointed by the board, but the City of Tshwane refused to ratify his appointment.
TEDA is a City of Tshwane agency.
Instead of ratifying Mogaladi's appointment, the municipality wanted the position to be re-advertised. He took the case to court.
In November 2020, Mogaladi obtained an interim interdict stopping TEDA from appointing a new CEO until his case was heard in court.
In the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Mogaladi argued the decision to appoint the CEO lay with the TEDA board and it did not need the City to ratify an appointment.
The City, on the other hand, argued it could get involved in the appointment of the CEO as this was provided for in the Service Delivery Agreements as well as the Municipal Systems Act (MSA), which provided for the appointment of directors.
In her judgment on 14 July, Acting Judge Ntombizanele Ndlokovane said the City imposed an obligation on TEDA "to seek its concurrence in the appointment of the CEO and its refusal to grant such concurrence absence of any statutory provision in the MSA in that regard offends the principle of legality".
"It then follows that the obligation to appoint the CEO falls squarely on the board of directors and no other person or persons."
She said the decision to re-advertise the position after Mogaladi's appointment was "invalid, unlawful, and irrational".
Ndlokovane also set aside the City's decision to not ratify Mogaladi's appointment.