/ 2 December 2016

Mashaba shows chief risk officer the door

Resolute: Jo’burg mayor Herman Mashaba
Resolute: Jo’burg mayor Herman Mashaba

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has asked the city’s group audit and assurance services head, Sinaye Nxumalo, to leave her post with immediate effect. This came after the Democratic Alliance-led administration discovered forensic reports of alleged corruption in the city that Nxumalo had failed to hand over to the auditor general.

A month ago, Mashaba told Nxumalo that he would not renew her contract. Instead, the mayor has contracted top auditing firms KPMG and Deloitte to help a newly established antigraft unit investigate and prosecute senior officials and former executives that served under the ANC administration in the city.

Mashaba said the questionable contracts amounted to hundreds of millions of rands.

“I’ve asked her to leave. Her department was the one responsible for investigating these cases and ensuring there are consequences, and nothing has happened,” Mashaba told the Mail & Guardian.

“I cannot have something like this that has failed the city. There’s no way someone can expect me to keep her in office.

“Fortunately, her contract expired.”

The mayor said the reports were commissioned by the administration of his predecessor, Parks Tau, but had been “gathering dust on the chief risk officer’s desk”.

“That’s what happened to these reports from consultants, which give recommendations on corruption. The leadership just put it aside.”

But Nxumalo has questioned the legitimacy of Mashaba’s decision.

“My understanding is that it was a dismissal; it was not a renewal of contract issue. That was only used as a basis for letting me go. I’m consulting with legal counsel on whether to challenge it,” Nxumalo told the M&G.

The city’s chief risk officer disputes the allegations against her, insisting that she followed through on the corruption investigations.

“We did everything we were supposed to do. Our reports and recommendations went to our heads of department, city manager and group audit committee. Mr Mashaba was of the view that I was supposed to implement [the recommendations], which is incorrect and a misunderstanding of the process,” she said.

One of the cases where corruption has been uncovered saw city officials working with private businesspeople to devalue properties, for which a criminal charge has been laid.

Another case involves legal firms deliberately duplicating invoices while helping the city to collect municipal revenue from residents.

“Those are the reports I have given to the auditor general. The consultants did their forensic investigations but reports weren’t handed over to the AG — as to why, I don’t know,” he said.

Mashaba said Nxumalo’s exit will be followed by the prosecution of officials and private companies that had helped to suppress the alleged corruption. To this end, he wants to rope in the Hawks despite reports of political bias.

“We hope the [Hawks] will help but we don’t have a choice; we have to ask. I’m not gonna let them frustrate us but we can’t jump to a conclusion that they won’t co-operate with us,” he said.

He also said many whistle-blowers have approached him with evidence of “looting” from state coffers. “The [looting] is so much that at this point of time it’s endemic. On a daily basis, more and more whistle-blowers are coming to me with files. This is just the beginning.”