Knysna welcomes new Municipal Manager

February 2023

Knysna welcomes new Municipal Manager

Mr. Ombali Phineas Sebola started his first day of work as Knysna’s new Municipal Manager today, 1 February. “I am pleased that the correct procedures were followed in securing this appointment,” explained Executive Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa. “I am confident that the most suitably qualified and experienced candidate has been appointed to serve greater Knysna.”

Sebola, who is married and a father of four, holds a B.Juris degree, a Municipal Finance Management diploma, and a Bachelor of Public Administration with Honours degree. Serving nearly twenty years in local government, he brings a wealth of experience to Knysna Municipality. He was part of the initial group to implement the then-newly developed Performance Management System in local government. This system monitors assesses and evaluates the performance of a municipality in order to gauge the progress made in achieving set targets.

During his already impressive career, Sebola has, amongst other positions, served as the Legal Manager for the Waterberg District Municipality and Senior Corporate Services Manager at the Bela-Bela Municipality. He was seconded as Acting Municipal Manager to the Mookgophong Municipality and appointed as Municipal Manager when that municipality was amalgamated with Modimolle Municipality in 2016.

Sebola said his vision for Knysna includes transforming the town into a world-class tourism hub, creating jobs, developing skills and collaborating with stakeholders to empower the local communities. “Uplifting staff morale and fostering unity and diversity in the organization is at the center of this vision,” he explained. “Our staff is the heart and soul of the organization. Motivated employees will not only do their job, but they will go out of their way to ensure that we render exceptional services to the people of the greater Knysna area.”

“One of the first commitments I made to our residents was that the position of Municipal Manager would be filled,” said Tsengwa. “We welcome Mr Sebola to this office and look forward to benefiting from his competent leadership. We have also compiled shortlists for the positions of the vacant director positions, and Mr Sebola will soon be at the helm of a fully staffed top management team.”

“An administration that functions under effective leadership is critical to implementing the policies and resolutions of Council, and to continuously improve on service delivery,” he concluded. “We are ready to roll up our sleeves and work towards creating an inclusive, innovative, inspired Knysna.”