The Star writes that, with the Tshwane ANC having already declared it wants embattled city manager Moeketsi Mosola to step down amid the GladAfrica tender scandal, the spotlight will shift to the EFF.
During the last council sitting, in November, a motion brought by mayor Solly Msimanga to suspend Mosola was deferred to this month.
With the council sitting on Thursday, Msimanga is expected to table the Auditor-General’s 2017/18 unqualified audit report.
After the sitting, he will vacate his office to focus solely on his role as Gauteng premier candidate for the DA in the general elections.
At the last sitting, both the EFF and ANC agreed that the matter be deferred, without giving any reasons. It will be seen this week if the EFF will follow in the footsteps of the ANC and support the motion to have Mosola suspended for a series of misdemeanours.
In the leaked draft report from the Attorney-General, it was found that Tshwane’s controversial multibillion rand contract with GladAfrica was irregular. The report presents the final financials for the period July 1, 2017 to June 28 last year.
Mosola has fought off efforts to suspend him. He has denied any wrongdoing and successfully blocked the tabling of a Bowmans report into the tender award after obtaining a court interdict in the Labour Court.
The report found that Mosola had allegedly awarded the tender without following due process.
The Attorney-General report leaked last week effectively blamed Mosola for issuing the tender outside the legal prescripts in November 2017.
The project management contract has been at the centre of political bickering between the DA and EFF in the council. The EFF has consistently supported Mosola against allegations of wrongdoing related to the three-year contract. The party also objected to two attempts by Msimanga to suspend Mosola over the allegations of tender irregularities.
EFF leader Julius Malema previously said his party would not support Mosola’s removal or suspension until it was presented with tangible evidence of wrongdoing. “If there is evidence against Mosola, he will go ‘as in yesterday’,” Malema said at the time.
During a media briefing last week, Malema said EFF councillors would take part in the tabling of the GladAfrica report in council. “We hold everyone accountable. Institutions like the Auditor-General help us to hold everybody accountable. We will be there, and once it comes from the A-G, then it will be something tangible. We will deal with it,” he said.
Malema dismissed claims that the EFF had links with GladAfrica. “We have nothing to hide. We have no relationship with GladAfrica. We didn’t bring GladAfrica into Tshwane. We don’t bring any company to any municipality,” he said.
Mosola has refused to be drawn into calls by the ANC for him to step down. He would not be drawn into commenting on whether the city would start legal processes to nullify the contract, for which R317 million has already been paid, according to the A-G’s report.
Mosola also kept mum on the possibility of recouping the money from GladAfrica.
Asked about the possibility of nullifying the contract, finance MMC MareLise Fourie said: “We are waiting for the final report and we will follow the right procedures. Remember, the tender was irregular… to set the tender aside you have to go to a court of law. It is exactly the same thing we did with the Peu electricity smart meters.”
Msimanga’s spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said it was premature to contemplate initiating legal processes with a view to nullifying the tender. “We must explore what the options are first.”
In a media statement, GladAfrica Group said: “We… will wait for the City of Tshwane to furnish us with the findings or contents of the A-G’s management report before we comment on the matter.”
The original of this report by Rapula Moatshe appeared on page 2 of The Star of 28 January 2019
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