Dr Moeketsi Mosola, the former Tshwane city manager. Dr Moeketsi Mosola, the former Tshwane city manager.
Pretoria - Controversial city manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola has finally packed his bags and left the city’s most senior position, but the heat around acting city managers continues to split the council.
While opposition parties had been clamouring for Mosola to leave his post at Tshwane House since he was embroiled in allegations of corruption regarding the handling of a
multibillion-rand tender awarded to Glad Africa, they’re yet to agree with the DA’s appointments of managers to act in his place.
Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa said the ANC and EFF should be happy that he was finalising Mosola’s contract buyout to give the city a new start. He said it was crucial that this issue be put to rest so the council could focus on service delivery.
However, the ANC called Mosola’s confidential buyout a “golden handshake”, reportedly worth around
R6million. They also criticised the DA’s appointment of chief audit
executive Moeketsi Ntsimane as acting city manager.
Both the ANC and EFF have slammed the decision as a conflict of interest, saying that the chief audit executive reported to the city manager and it would make no sense for him to report to himself.
However, Mokgalapa told Pretoria News that opposition parties would always complain, but that was to be expected: if they don’t do that, they have stopped being the opposition, he said. He said, first, there was no “golden handshake” for Mosola.
Rather, the city had bought him out of his contract that still had two years and five months to run.
“I also just want to make this clear: there is no conflict of interest because the chief audit executive reports to the audit and performance committee, and that’s an independent body.
“On top of that, I have appointed an acting chief audit executive to assume Ntsimane’s post, as he acts on what used to be Mosola’s post,” said the mayor.
ANC chairperson in Tshwane Kgosi Maepa said the “golden handshake” for Mosola meant he walked away from the City of Tshwane without taking any responsibility for irregular expenditure as identified by the Auditor-General South Africa, to the tune of
R6.1billion, including the “illegal and
irregular” payment to Glad Africa,
He said Ntsimane was the chief audit executive of the city, meaning the decision to appoint him as acting city manager was a senseless and illogical one. The EFF abstained from voting on the appointments of acting city managers from when James Murphy was nominated as acting city manager in July.
Lorette Tredoux was named as the acting city manager, leaving councillors asking who the city manager was - Murphy or Tredoux?
ANC councillors expressed their frustrations at Thursday’s council meeting and saw proceedings delayed until late at night, only to hear that Ntsimane was going to fill the important post for now.
EFF chairperson in Tshwane
Moafrika Mabogwana said his party didn’t agree with the DA on the appointment of the city manager, but it still abstained from voting.