We have noted with disdain fresh allegations levelled against the Executive Mayor, the Speaker, Single Whip and the broader Council of the Rustenburg Local Municipality. The allegations are contained in a protected disclosure made in terms of Protected Disclosure Act 26 of 2000. It has become necessary to respond due to the fact that the document has been widely distributed on social media. We will cooperate with any investigation by any state agency into these allegations. It would appear that Ms Hanna Mogase is attempting to pre-empt any internal process that the Municipal Manager is obliged to undertake in the case of theft of face value documents at Public Safety. The value of the face value stolen is estimated at about R500 000.
We would therefore urge Ms Hanna Mogase and any employee of the Public Safety Directorate to co-operate with any internal or external investigation as led by the South African Police Service. We also wish to reiterate that the appointment of all senior managers remains the competence of a full Municipal Council. The process to appoint senior managers was not compliant with Regulation 14 – Regulations on Appointment and Conditions of Employment of Senior Managers. The Municipal Council could not overlook the regulations guiding the appointments given that the appointment would be set aside by a court of law or not endorsed by the MEC. It should be noted that there was unanimity in Council on the matter.
If Ms Hanna Mogase or Mr Obadia Mokonyama are not satisfied, both can explore their options. We therefore also plead with Ms Hanna Mogase to give the Municipal Manager the professional space to do her job. We are confident in her ability to make decisions and believe that she will give this matter the necessary attention, cognisant of the best interest of the municipality.
The disclosure by Ms Hanna Mogase, is baseless and devoid of any truth as it relates to the alleged interference by the Executive Mayor, TROIKA and other councillors in the appointment of senior managers in the municipality. Ms Hanna Mogase was supposed to validate her claims but decided to resort to obfuscation. A tactic which has become increasingly synonymous with a series of letters designed to collapse the systems of governance and sow confusion within the rank and file of the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
It is ill-conceived to create a perception that the Executive Mayor, is micro-managing the Rustenburg Local Municipality, when an institution such as this is guided by legal prescripts that governs local government.
Issued by: Communications Unit
Office of the Executive Mayor
