Paul Kirk
Emergency powers have been invoked by Obed Mlaba, Durban’s African National Congress mayor, to extend a lucrative contract awarded to ruling party stalwart and disgraced former attorney Linda Zama. Critics say Mlaba did not have that right.
And making matters worse for Zama, the Mail & Guardian this week confirmed she is to stand trial for the alleged theft of client money in a trust fund over which she had control.
Late last year the M&G reported that Zama’s communications company, Wozani, had been given a R112 000 a month contract to act as the media liaison agent for Durban’s mayor. The contract was awarded despite Wozani being up to twice as expensive as two other companies that were asked for proposals.
At the time opposition political parties including the Minority Front which is in coalition with the ANC expressed concern over the high price of Zama’s firm. Shortly before council went into recess on December 13 a vote was passed by Durban Council’s Executive Committee not to renew Wozani’s contract, but to retain its services until December 15 by which time a replacement was to have been found.
No replacement was found and as a result Mlaba used a council ordinance, Rule of Order 25, to extend Zama’s contract under his “emergency” powers.
But a reading of the ordinance seems to indicate Mlaba acted ultra vires. Rule of Order 25 gives the power to the chairman of a committee to decide on a matter when council is in session, but when it is not practicable to obtain a decision from the committee. When council is not in session, only the town clerk or chief executive can make the decision.
The M&G has obtained a copy of the document that renews Wozani’s contract, on a month-by-month basis. The document is in two parts. First municipal manager Felix Dlamini writes to the mayor asking him to renew the contract in terms of Rule of Order 25.
Appended to the end is Mlaba’s approval of the extension of the contract, on a month-by-month basis for three months. Mlaba signed the document in his capacity as chair of the executive committee. As council is in recess it appears that he did not have the power in terms of Rule of Order 25 to act as he did.
This week opposition parties vowed to take legal action against the ratification of the order unless the contract was scrapped.
Democratic Alliance councilor Peter Corbett said his party and possibly others who voted against renewing the Wozani contract would consider taking the mayor to court.
Speaking from Cape Town where he is on holiday, Corbett said he believed the mayor had acted ultra vires in renewing the contract while council was in recess. He said he believed this was an example of an ANC politician looking after the business interests of an ANC member.
Mlaba, as well as representatives of the Inkatha Freedom Party and Minority Front who voted against retaining Wozani, were not available at the time of going to press.
She is likely to soon appear in court to face charges of having plundered a trust fund account while she practised as an attorney.
This week state advocate Dorian Paver of the KwaZulu-Natal public prosecutor’s office told the M&G that a formal decision had been made to prosecute Zama and that he expected to have completed drawing up the charge sheet early in February.
A friend of President Thabo Mbeki and former president Nelson Mandela, Zama was reported to the courts by the Natal Law Society when it discovered that her Attorney’s Trust Fund had been pillaged. She was struck off the roll of attorneys in 1998.
Said Paver: “I can confirm I will be drawing up the charge sheet and the charges will relate to the theft of trust fund money.”
Zama had been hoping to be readmitted to the bar. Late last year the M&G confirmed with her lawyer, Robinson Manzi, that Zama had retained his services to this end. Zama could not be reached.