Jaspreet Kindra
African National Congress MPL Patricia Lion-Cachet and the former mayor of Kyalami, Isaac Mahlangu, are earning two salaries at the taxpayers’ expense.
Lion-Cachet defected to the ANC from the Democratic Alliance before last December’s municipal elections. Both earn incomes as councillors and as members of the Gauteng Tourism Board. In terms of the Gauteng Tourism Act of 1998, a member has to vacate office if he or she becomes a member of Parliament, any provincial legislature, the council of a municipality, the Cabinet or the executive council. The DA’s representative on finance, Heremene Koorts, who raised the issue with MEC for Finance Jabu Moloketi last month, has written to the public protector asking him to intervene. Moloketi dismissed the DA’s complaint as “cheap politicking”, saying the election had only recently been concluded and they will be taking up the issue in due course. However, the DA leader in the province, Jack Bloom, pointed out that Mahlangu was already a sitting councillor when he was appointed to the position last year. “Moloketi was responsible for the approval of the legislation he must implement his own laws,” Bloom said. Lion-Cachet said the Tourism Act was being repealed because the position of a councillor was a part-time one. The ANC’s Gauteng representative, Mike Ramagoma, said: “If the law as it currently stands says they cannot hold two positions both the councillors will be removed from the board.” Lion-Cachet said she was appointed to the board last year, long before she joined the ANC in August. Mahlangu is now a councillor in the East Rand Metropolitan Council.