Executive Mayor excited about Council’s appointment of new City Manager

27 January 2017

Note to Editor: Please see report adopted by Council confirming the nomination of City Manager. Please also see attached.

The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, is pleased with Council’s appointment of the new City Manager, Moeketsi Msola, who was nominated by Mayor Msimanga following a comprehensive and stringent nomination process wherein candidates were subjected to psychometric tests and exhaustive interviews by a multiparty panel including an external panelist not affiliated to any party.

Council did so observing the letter of the law and due process that governs the nomination and confirmation of a candidate for City Manager. To this end, Council’s appointment will now go to the Gauteng MEC for Local Government for concurrence.

It must be noted that the Executive Mayor is well within his rights to make public his nominee for City Manager and indeed any business he intends to bring before Council. This is in the public interest and does not violate the prescripts of the law and due process.

Instead of supporting the nomination of Mr Mosola, the ANC in Council, without an iota of substantive evidence, unsurprisingly elected to oppose this nomination owing to their inability to accept the democratic outcomes and change that was brought about by the Local Government Election held on 03 August 2016.

Executive Mayor Msimanga had this to say: “It is quite surprising to have to explain the rudiments of Council procedure to an ANC in Tshwane who often claims to be a bastion of law, order and due process. In any event, all protocol in this regard was observed and the ANC is using this appointment by Council to advance a narrow party political agenda without considering the people they were elected to serve. It is to be expected.”

Executive Mayor Msimanga added, “I find the ANC’s utterances in Council quite curious. This is with specific respect to their suggestion that they intend to unduly influence the MEC for Local Government to deny concurrence of the appointment. For a party that believes in due process, this would be at odds with the prescripts of separating party and state if that is indeed the route the seek to pursue. In any event we are optimistic that the appointment made by Council will be upheld and we are going to do exciting things and revive the Capital City. The ANC is welcome to work with us but we are making progress with or without them.”

We look forward to working with him in facing some of the more challenging issues that are before us and some of the most exciting this that the City is working on to bring to the people of Tshwane.

This appointment by Council is one such indication of the strides that are being made to further stabilise the City’s leadership so that we may continue to make the progress our people need.

Appreciating the challenges our City faces and the needs of our people that need to be addressed; Council confirmed his nomination which will allow us to continue the work we have already begun, in earnest.

The City of Tshwane is looking forward to welcoming the new member to its management team. We also looking forward to change, new to make this City work for its people again and not serve the narrow political interests of the ANC in Tshwane.

Statement issued by Samkelo Mgobozi, Spokesperson to the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, 27 January 2017