Tshwane city manager Moeketsi Mosola has spent a whopping R2.4million from municipal coffers on his legal fight with former executive mayor Solly Msimanga.
Mayoral spokesperson Norman Mohale said the matter came under scrutiny in light of information that the City didn’t have a policy on the provision of legal fees for employees.
He said incumbent executive mayor Stevens Mokgalapa was briefed about the situation and had asked for a comprehensive report.
Msimanga and Mosola wrangled over a report related to a contract awarded to GladAfrica in November 2017 to assist with the rollout of City infrastructure.
The contract was in January declared irregular by the Auditor-General. It has since been terminated by mutual agreement from both parties.
The report on the contract was compiled by independent investigators Bowmans, which had been mandated by the council to probe the alleged irregularities related to the awarding of the multimillion-rand tender.
Msimanga was due to table the report in council in October last year, but Mosola approached the Labour Court to interdict the move.
Mohale said it had come to Mokgalapa’s attention that an amount of R2.4m was used for Mosola’s legal fees.
He said the mayor was recently briefed about the matter by the governance and support officer.
“The briefing was mainly about the fact that the City doesn’t have a policy in terms of provision of legal fees for employees.
“The mayor then asked the governance and support officer to look into it and submit a comprehensive report for him to apply his mind,” he said.
The mayor previously asked the municipal public account committee to further investigate the awarding of the GladAfrica tender.
Asked about the implication of the Bowmans report, Mohale said: “I am not sure if you have access to the Bowmans report; the report was interdicted.”
He said the City had not officially received the report and was unable to comment on its content. “We can’t comment on a report we don’t have access to,” he said.
He, however, said Mokgalapa held the view that those implicated in wrongdoing related to the GladAfrica tender must face the music.
Yesterday, the ANC in Tshwane alleged the City was still paying Glad- Africa despite the contract having been terminated.
But Mohale said: “The City is not paying anything beyond the termination of the contract. It is paying for task orders that were signed before the day of termination. It is not true to suggest we are paying beyond the termination of the contract.”
ANC regional chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa said: “Upon taking over the reins of the City from Msimanga, Mokgalapa said he would act on the Auditor-General’s findings on the GladAfrica scandal, and until today we are still waiting for a report to serve in council.
“Instead Mokgalapa said he will set up what he called a financial misconduct board to look into the GladAfrica scandal.”
According to Mohale, the mayor’s attitude was that anyone found to be in the wrong would have to face the consequences.
“This is why he referred this matter to the municipal public account committee for further investigation,” he said, adding that he was unsure about how far the investigations were.
Regarding claims that Mokgalapa’s fate in the metro was undecided as mayor after he appeared on the DA parliamentary list, he said: “The mayor is committed in his current role as the mayor of the City of Tshwane. He has no intention to go to Parliament. He has had a discussion with the national structure about it.”
-Pretoria News
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