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Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina suspended his speech writer, Malaika Mahlatsi, after a social media dispute between her and a former lover.
The ugly public dispute led to accusations that Mahlatsi, a writer who also calls himself Malaika wa Azania, was writing Masina’s doctoral thesis.
She has denied the allegations about the doctoral thesis, carried out by her ex-lover Katlego Mamabolo.
In a statement Tuesday, Masina’s office said it had issued Mahlatsi a notice of intent to suspend it in connection with the municipality’s code of conduct.
“The office of the executive mayor issued today, May 12, 2020, Malaika Mahlatsi with a notice of intention to suspend her employment in the City of Ekurhuleni for contravening the Municipal Systems Law (MSA): Code of Conduct for members of the municipal staff and the Social Media Policy of the city of Ekurhuleni (CoE) ”, the statement read.
In terms of the code of conduct, staff members of a municipality must act at all times in the best interest of the municipality and in such a way that the credibility and integrity of the municipality are not compromised.
“In terms of the CoE’s social media policy, personal use of social media should be done in a way that does not indicate any link or association with the CoE. For this reason, personal use is not covered in this policy.
“However, the CoE will take the necessary steps if users make use of social media in a way that has a direct, indirect or potential impact on the CoE’s reputation or interests,” the statement read.
He said Masina’s office noted with great concern the circulation of an alleged Mahlatsi audio recording on social media. In the recording, she claims that the mayor reduced the salaries of staff members in the municipality without consulting.
“The claims are false and factless. The executive mayor, in deciding to donate 33% of his salary to the Solidarity Fund, consulted the council speaker, whip chief, members of the mayor’s committee, city manager, group financial director and all department heads to encourage them to join themselves and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to contribute to the fund.
“The public representatives and elected officials mentioned above signed commitment forms authorizing the city’s human resources department to deduct part of their wages and redirect donations to the Solidarity Fund,” the statement read.
He said Masina had no authority to lower municipal staff salaries, and also denied claims that Mahlatsi was working on his doctorate.
“The executive mayor is currently in the initial stage of preparing his research proposal for a PhD in philosophy. At no time has any person authored or contributed to the content of the research proposal, including anyone who was reviewing or reviewing the material, “the statement read.
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