Internal investigation underway at Stellenbosch Municipality over HR staff member's controversial remarks

Stellenbosch mayor Jeremy Fasser said an internal investigation will be instituted into allegations of constructive dismissal and workplace bullying leveled against a senior human resources staff member.

Following the allegations, the DA, in a statement, also said it will bring a motion at the City Council meeting today, Friday, September 5, to terminate the acting directorship of the staff member, human resources manager, Alexander Kannemeyer, and call for his suspension. 

Mr Kannemeyer can be heard in the leaked video raising concerns about the hiring of white men for jobs in the infrastructure, technical, and water directorates. The video was recorded in 2023.

“I have a concern that every time, when we appoint somebody and come back, then we go to the highest score, and it's always a white male. I believe that we are never going to get this organisation right with that type of attitude. We are not going to transform, and we are going to struggle for years and years.”

He then further suggested that life be made difficult for the employees so that they can resign.

“We are not going for gender-based (appointments) anymore. So we work to a fashion where we either make life difficult for the person that came in, the person resigns, and afterwards we get what we want,” he can be heard saying in the video.

These statements caused outrage on social media, with political parties and civil organisations calling on the municipality to take action against him. 

Mr Fasser said he had conducted a preliminary investigation into the allegations and that the outcome necessitated further investigation. 

“I believe there is enough reason to institute an internal investigation into these allegations, and as such, I am convening a special council meeting later this week to start the process. 

“I will also be reviewing the Recruitment and Selection Policy of the Municipality to ensure that there are no loopholes to allow race-based bullying and constructive dismissal to occur,” he said.

He added that he does not condone the behaviour at the heart of the allegations.

In a statement, the DA said: This matter is not about transformation, employment equity, or empowerment – it is about a senior staff member publicly committing to bullying and harassing people in the workplace. No person in South Africa would support a policy that calls for bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Civil rights organisation AfriForum also condemned the utterances and said such are not only unlawful and discriminatory, but also undermine the quality of service delivery and professional standards within the Municipality.

The trade union, Solidarity, said it has been helping senior managers with unfair dismissal in the municipality.

“Solidarity and our members will do everything in our power to support any resulting investigations and provide all relevant information. We invite anyone who has more information about similar unfair practices at the Stellenbosch Municipality to contact Solidarity,” the organisation said in a statement.