Just weeks after ANC Youth League’s Zwelo Masilela was exposed for having once scored a lucrative job as a senior researcher in Mpumalanga with only a matric certificate, another ANC leader has been outed for nailing a senior municipal position without a post matric qualification.
African Times can reveal that in 2015, all academic requirements were waived to pave the way for Phiwe Mhlongo to notch a job as a manager for public participation and councillor support in the City of Umhlathuze (Richards Bay-Empangeni).
Mhlongo is the deputy chairperson of the ANC in the Musa Dladla region in KwaZulu-Natal.
He is also serving as a councillor in the City of Umhlathuze. When the job was advertised, it was specified that a bachelor’s degree or equivalent was required.
According to the records for the interviews, Mhlongo threw his name into the hat together with other candidates who had masters’ degrees and he was given the job.
Mhlongo was shortlisted and interviewed for the job after he wrote a motivation to the the City Manager, Dr NJ Sibeko, who worked with the then ANC administration. In the letter he claimed that he was in the process of acquiring an LLB from UNISA, hence he should be considered.
“I am cognisant of the fact that the post advertised requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, I am towards the end of my LLB programme (Bachelor of Laws), I did ⅔ of my programme with the University of Zululand… I am now completing with the University of South Africa… since I am a full time employee (security officer within the same municipality).
“I continued with the application on the following reasons: that a person can be suitably qualified for a job as a result of anyone of, or any combination of the person’s formal qualification, prior learning, relevant experience or the capacity to acquire within a reasonable time the ability to do the job (definition of suitably qualified person: Employment Equity),” Mhlongo wrote to Sibeko.
The rest is history as he went on to score the job he held until he resigned in 2021 when the ANC was ousted by the IFP-DA coalition and started a clean-up campaign.
Mhlongo did not respond when he was asked about the allegations and whether he was able to finish his LLB studies as claimed in the letter to Sibeko.
