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- The Public Protector’s report found that due process was not followed in the appointments of two Johannesburg city officials under the Herman Mashaba administration.
- Irregularities related to the appointment of the auditing firm KPMG were also found.
- Mashaba has indicated that she intends to legally challenge the report.
Johannesburg City Mayor Geoff Makhubo says they are considering legal action to recover money lost as a result of the irregular appointments of former Mayor Herman Mashaba following a report from the Public Protector.
On Monday, the public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane released the results of a series of investigations conducted by her office, including one into allegations of irregular appointments, salary increases, financial mismanagement, procurement irregularities and conflicts of interest in the city.
The investigation was the result of an anonymous complaint filed in March 2018.
“As a city, we are interacting more with the report and will act quickly to comply with and implement the recommendations. We will consider our options on possible legal procedures to recover some of the money paid to irregular and lost appointments to the city,” Makhubo said.
Mkhwebane found that the appointments of Moses Metileni as executive director of housing and David Tembe to the post of chief of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police (JMPD) did not follow due process.
It also found irregularities in the appointment of the auditing firm KPMG in 2016/17, and in the conduct of Mashaba, among other things.
READ | Mashaba vs Mkhwebane: Former Mayor Seeks to Clear His Name in Court Under Full Public and Media Scrutiny
“The City incorrectly or irregularly designated KPMG to conduct investigations in various departments within the City for distinctly different assignments that would require different expertise, without publicizing the tender as required by the Municipal Finance Administration Act (MFMA) and regulations Supply Chain Management (SCM), “the report reads.
“Former City Executive Mayor: Mr. Herman Mashaba illegally and irregularly entered the procurement space and requested free services from Lephatsi Financial Services and if this represented a conflict of interest.”
Recommendation
The Public Protector’s office gave the City 60 business days to disclose all irregular expenses that would have arisen from the irregular appointments.
“The Public Protector’s findings are welcome and begin to complete the picture of how the City, during the previous administration, witnessed a spike in irregular spending that reached an all-time high of R2.4 billion. Lack of consequence management and impunity were the order of the day, “Makhubo said.
Another recommendation for corrective action by the Public Protector was: “Within thirty business days from the date of this report, submit this report to the current executive mayor of the City, for disciplinary action to be taken against all current employees. of the City that are responsible for non-compliance with the hiring processes, SCM processes or any other form of mismanagement or misconduct highlighted in this report. “
Meanwhile, Mashaba said she would challenge the report.
“On the advice of legal counsel, I will not address any of the issues contained in the report, as these issues have been sufficiently refuted in the past,” he said in a statement Monday.
“Our approach now proceeds to initiating a full Supreme Court legal review of the Public Protector’s report and seeking a cost order against the Public Protector or his office in this matter,” he added.
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