5 years of job-killing corruption in EMM: DA lays criminal charges against Mayor and City Manager

15 July 2016

Where the ANC governs corruption is endemic, and Ekurhuleni is no different. A vote for the ANC in this election is a vote to keep this trail of corruption in place. 

Only a vote for change can stop corruption.

Under ANC government, the Ekurhuleni Metro has not just become the capital of unemployment, but also a hive of mismanagement and corruption.

Under the leadership of Mayor Mondli Gungubele, the metro has been rocked by the following major scandals:

- The illegal appointment of the city manager, Khaya Ngema

- Irregularly awarding an IT tender worth R35 million

- Fraudulently awarding a tender for the procurement of Water Meters for R205 – million

- Irregularly awarding a tender for an ‘institutional review’ for R32-million

- Irregularly awarding R100-million worth of tenders in the Roads and Transport Departments

- Ignoring the Constitutional Court ruling on the illegal forced removal and relocation of over 1000 people from Bapsfontien to the N12 informal settlement

- A string of police chiefs who are either not qualified or under criminal investigation

This excludes dozens of smaller instances of chronic corruption and mismanagement, as well as wasteful and fruitless expenditure.

The DA has compiled a dossier with more details on these activates.

Corruption starts at the top, and the illegal appointment of the City Manager is at the crux of the matter.

Under the current city manager and executive mayor, corruption has been buried and investigations into corruption has been deliberately stalled. A culture of ignoring legal requirements has prevailed in the administration of the metro.

City Manager Khaya Ngema, who currently earns a salary of R2.8 million per annum, was appointed in 2009 and his contract ended on May 17 2012, but the council extended it in contravention of local government regulations.

In August 2015, the High Court in Johannesburg ruled that continued employment of the city manager was unlawful and ordered then Gauteng MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, 14 days to decide on a way forward to break the impasse.

Mamabolo failed to meet this deadline to take corrective action. His successor, Paul Matishile, has also failed to give effect to the court ruling.

In 2012, in the national assembly, President Jacob Zuma referred to Ekurhuleni as the most corrupt municipality in Gauteng. No action has been taken, due to stalling by the municipality.

The City Manager is alleged to have been involved of the following acts of mismanagement:

1. Obstructing the Public Protector’s investigation into unlawful expenditures following the failure to honour National Treasury findings in 2012 that led to the investigation, leading to the Public Protector resolving to subpoena the Municipality;

2. Irregular expenditure to the value of an estimated amount of at least R15 billion of public money caused by Ngema’s conduct and presidency in managing financial affairs of the Municipality negligently, including the infamous tenders for the Institutional Review and new water meters, which matters have seemingly stalled in the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), the local equivalent to SCOPA; 

3. The illegal appointment of Ngema as City Manager which was made possible by machinations of the Head of Human Resources (Lerato Gumbi) and Head of Legal Services who sought a legal opinion from an undisclosed source against a standing legal advice of SALGA which was also confirmed by the High Court on another similar case stating Ngema’s continued employment must be terminated;

4. Providing misleading information to the National Treasury, the Auditor General and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee in at least two annual financial statements and reports on matters of irregular and/or fruitless expenditure;

5. Attempting to bribe three Bid Adjudication Committee officials with their jobs by coercing them to provide false evidence in a court of law and the suspension and dismissal of one of the Bid Adjudication Committee member who refused to participate in such illegal conduct;

6. Withholding information from Council and the Public Protector in respect of the suspension and dismissal of the same senior manager who refused to lie for the Municipality in Court which in terms of legislation his suspension and dismissal could only be effected after consideration and authorization by the full Council.

Together, Gungubele and Ngema have managed to irregularly award 283 tenders and misspent R7.2 billion of Ekurhuleni’s money.

As the DA, we have tirelessly fought to expose the large scale corruption within the metro. 

This includes the unlawful extension of Ngema’s employment contract in 2012.

The DA placed it on record at the 27 September 2012 Council meeting that it was against the decision to extend the employment contract of Ngema. But the ANC majority saw the item being passed, to their own detriment. As the results of poor governing decisions are starting to show their blunders, it is the residents who pay for the mistakes of an incompetent ruling party.

The DA will not stop until the correct measures have been taken by the metro and the post of the City Manager is filled by a competent individual. 

Under a DA government in Ekurhuleni we will root out corruption at the very core of this metro. 

We will, today, lay charges with the South African Police Service against the Mayor and City Manager for corruption in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act. 

We demand an urgent criminal investigation be instituted against those who misled the presidential investigation under proclamation R63-2010 with false financial disclosures in the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 audited financial statements and irregular clean audit report from investigating the corrupt deeds of Ngema in relation to the 283 irregularly-warded tenders and R7.2 billion irregularly-expended public funds.

We have learnt yesterday that as a result of Mayor Mondli Gungubele not being returned to office by the ANC, the City Manager has decided to resign. 

Gungubele acted as Ngema’s protector in chief and owes the residents of this city an explanation as to why he failed to comply with the court order to remove Ngema, and why Ngema is resigning almost a year after the court ruled his appointment be set aside. His resignation appears to have everything to do with a change of mayors and nothing to do with the rule of law.

Since the inception of the Ekurhuleni Metro in 2000, the ANC record government is one of chronic corruption and mismanagement. They have proven themselves incapable of governing in the interests of the people. 

The ANC’s new Mayoral Candidate, Mzwandile Masina, is a staunch ally of Jacob Zuma, with no track record of governing. He has bounded from department to department as a cadre deployee, never staying anywhere long enough to demonstrate any real ability, and only taking up positions to further his own political career.

Under Masina, Ekurhuleni will be handed over to the Zuma network on a plate.

The people of Ekurhuleni need a voice of strength and strong leadership to stand up and challenge the corrupt. 

We call on all residents of this metro to reject the ANC of Jacob Zuma that brings corruption and mismanagement everywhere it goes by rejecting Zuma’s choice for Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, and elect DA government. 

The DA is the only party that can bring change that will put an end to corruption in this metro and makes sure that this city works for the people and not just a select few.

Issued by Warren G wilt, Media Officer, 15 July 2016