Maile’s speech is full of lies

14 May 2020

Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC Lebogang Maile delivered a shocking speech that was filled with a litany of lies, in an attempt to satisfy his lust for power.

Maile repeatedly tries to justify and defend his unlawful decision to place the Tshwane Council under administration at every opportunity he gets.

His claim that the Tshwane Council was not functioning properly, while totally omitting the fact that he shirked his responsibility as MEC to discipline ANC and EFF councillors for repeated Council meeting disruptions and walkouts is puzzling.

He has a legislated duty to discipline councillors who blatantly refuse to do their duties. The court record on this matter is clear and damning that the MEC failed to do his job properly before unlawfully trying to dissolve the city’s council.

Maile would do well to remember the words of the North Gauteng High Court judges, which went as follows:

“It is our view that the most direct cause of the Council’s inability to conduct its business in council meetings was the continued disruption of council meetings by the ANC and EFF councillors staging walkouts. Such conduct was not prioritized nor addressed by the MEC.” – Section 81, page 29, DA v Premier for Province of Gauteng 18577-2020

“Walking out of council meetings and disrupting such meetings in a concerted manner could never have been in the interests of the Tshwane local community.” Section 888, page 31, DA v Premier for Province of Gauteng 18577-2020.

The recently released impressive Tshwane City 2018/19 annual report presents the real picture of the achievements of the DA-led municipality over the past year and Maile contradicts every part of it while spinning half-truths and lies in his attempt to justify his unlawful decision to place it under administration.

When the DA took over leadership of the City of Tshwane from the ANC in 2016, it was faced with having to address the high levels of irregular expenditure incurred by the previous ANC administration, such as illegal contracts it had entered into.

This included the illegal PEU meter, Broadband and Fleet contracts, which had a disastrous effect on the city’s finances. Maile cannot blame the DA-led administration for these contracts that were inherited from the previous ANC administration.

Maile must think that the residents of Tshwane are stupid if he believes that he can blame the DA-led administration for the reckless and illegal tenders his comrades entered into.

He made no mention of the strong financial position that the DA-led City was in at the end of 2019.

The City had increased its accumulated surplus from R25.5 billion at the end of 2018 to R27.3 billion by the end of 2019. This is an increase of R2.8 billion in the city’s surplus and it speaks to the strict financial management that was implemented and the cost savings that were achieved during this period.

The City also witnessed an investment notch upgrade from A1.za to Aa2.za which was a two notch upgrade reflecting the city’s improved liquidity position over this period.

Maile must urgently reveal to the public how many of the 645 cases he makes reference to against the DA-led administration are as a result of unlawful tenders that were awarded to ANC cronies when they were running the City.

Maile also continues to invent imaginary service delivery failures in the hope that he might be believed.

The courts could not identify a single issue that suggests that the City of Tshwane had failed its executive obligations, as enshrined in the law.

The progress made in Hammanskraal is not as a result of the recently deployed team of ANC administrators. The DA-led administration appointed contractors to upgrade the Rooiwalwaste water treatment plant.

The level of arrogance on display by the ANC in Tshwane is shocking.

The current ANC administrators in Tshwane were not elected by the residents of this city.

They were imposed on the city by the provincial government, a decision which was unlawful.

Issued byRandall Williams, DA Tshwane Mayoral Candidate, 14 May 2020