ANC regional secretary George Matjila. (Facebook)
The ANC in Tshwane has accused city officials of running a corruption ring for which politicians are being unfairly blamed.
“The corruption that has been happening is something that is done by officials alone and we think it’s time now that the ANC sees to it that we take the bull by the horns,” the party’s regional secretary George Matjila told a media briefing on Tuesday, after a meeting of its Gauteng provincial task team on Monday.
He said the ANC was not the only party in government in Tshwane and was not responsible for hiring most of the officials employed by the city.
“In this case, we are speaking openly about a chief financial officer (CFO) who has been found wanting. At all material times, people will speak about the ANC as an organisation as if it is corrupt, without exposing those whose hands are in the cookie jar,” Matjila said.
He accused the chief financial officer of failing to submit annual financial statements, flouting the Municipal Finance Management Act, MFMA, overseeing ballooning unauthorised, irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure as well as a history of making unjustifiable demands and having unexplained wealth.
Matjila also alleged the cancellation and manipulation of critical tenders, unauthorised movement of funds and “bizarre” security arrangements. He said councillor Lex Middleburg of the Republican Party had previously objected to the CFO’s appointment, citing revelations from the Johannesburg High Court during his divorce proceedings.
“His ex-wife demanded a monthly spousal allowance of R250 000, listing assets worth over R68 million. This CFO has a history of amassing unexplained wealth and demanding unsubstantiated salary increases,” Matjila said.
“His presence is a clear risk, exposing the municipality to reputational damage and potential litigation from his past and future dealings. The city manager promised a report on questions posed to the CFO and a lifestyle audit, but this has vanished into thin air.”
In the roads and transport sector, tenders were cancelled without explanation, leading directly to poor grant performance, while a security tender had contributed to irregular spending and had been inexplicably postponed for a full year, Matjila added, laying blame on the CFO’s office.
Departments in the metro were being forced to deviate from planned projects due to the finance department’s poor performance, risking funds being returned to the national treasury.
“Furthermore, the CFO is protected by unauthorised ‘bodyguards’ who provide static security in the council building — an arrangement not approved by council. Who is the CFO afraid of and has he reported any threat to the [police]? We demand a full report from the city manager.”
ANC regional spokesperson Joel Masilela ka Mahlangu told journalists that the party would act decisively against corruption in Tshwane.
“We know that not all officials in the city are corrupt. There are good officials who are doing their work and those who are not, we are going to expose,” he said.
In the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD), junior officials had been dismissed despite doing nothing wrong and faithfully upholding their oath of office, Masilela ka Mahlangu alleged.
“There were senior officials in government at the time when the city was led by the Democratic Alliance, where our own officials had to be sent home on racial grounds, while those who should have been held accountable for breaking the law were not. Black officials in the city were fired and we are acting on those matters,” he said.
Some TMPD officials investigating senior officials had allegedly been threatened with the withdrawal of their VIP protection, placing their lives at risk.
“You have a chief of police who allegedly received a bribe of R450 000 and went to Sun City. An investigation was commissioned to probe that ‘Christmas gift’ but for nefarious reasons, parts of the investigation were hidden and the council was misled,” Masilela ka Mahlangu said.
“Even the city manager himself — the appointment of Revo Spies is questionable because when he left Ekurhuleni Metro Police, he left under a serious cloud. That person was appointed irregularly. Revo Spies does not have the required qualifications, and he was interviewed seven days after a memorandum was issued stating that there were to be no interviews.”
The City of Tshwane did not immediately respond to the Mail & Guardian’s request for comment on the raft of accusations from the ANC.