Shock, anger over Mosola report on irregularities in Tshwane mayor's office

Embattled Tshwane municipal manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola surprised all and sundry when he issued a report on the irregular senior appointments in the office of executive mayor Solly Msimanga on Friday.

Senior officials in the City at the weekend said they were shocked about Mosola’s report, which further reflected the ongoing public spat between Msimanga and his municipal manager. In addition, they claimed the report was riddled with inconsistencies and intended to get back at Msimanga, who too said he was taken by surprise by its premature release.

The mayor had two days earlier successfully convinced council to issue a notice of intention to suspend the municipal manager over tender irregularities. Municipal insiders who spoke to the Pretoria News blasted Mosola for rushing to release the section of the report which dealt with irregular appointments in the office of the mayor.

They said the report should have covered all staff, from group head up to deputy director, in line with the terms of reference of the probe. The City manager was also slammed for remaining mum on the head of Tshwane Emergency Services Previn Govender, who was recently exposed of having misrepresented his qualifications - the same scandal that claimed the scalp of former chief of staff in Msimanga’s office, Marietha Aucamp.

An insider said: “Mosola appointed Govender; he chaired the interview panel. What Govender did is similar to what Aucamp did, yet Govender is treated lightly because he is Mosola’s ally. Why is Govender not suspended? He is currently on duty in China with the MMC.”

Another senior municipal official corroborated this, adding: “Marietha was suspended within days, but Govender hasn’t been touched and has been rewarded with an overseas trip instead, a week after the revelations that he lied in his CV.” The Pretoria News also learned that a week ago, Msimanga wrote to Mosola requesting a progress report update and preliminary report on the citywide investigation he instituted after the Aucamp scandal.

At the time, the mayor said it was important to familiarise himself with the matter and update the media. In response, Mosola said he instructed the chief audit executive to conduct the comprehensive investigation, which would be concluded on August 31. However, in releasing his findings to the media on Friday, Mosola only focused on senior officials in the office of the executive mayor, the sources said.

He said the report would be submitted to the Office of the Public Protector today. The report had been instituted at an instruction of the public protector after the ANC caucus in Tshwane lodged a complaint regarding the allegations that some senior managers were irregularly appointed. The appointments were made before Mosola became the municipal accounting officer and head of administration.

In terms of the report, mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi was hired into the position despite his lack of the necessary experience. The report noted that Mgobozi met the minimum academic requirements, but did not meet the criteria of having more than 12 years of experience and five years at the senior management level. “Mgobozi only had two years and five months as a DA campaign press director,” the report said.

The temporary appointment of former executive head in the private office of the executive mayor, Stefan Adriaan de Villiers, was also found to be irregular and not in line with the City’s staffing policy. De Villiers, a bodybuilder, did not meet the academic minimum requirements of possessing a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.