Nasiphi Moya, Burgomaster of Tshwane. (Photo: Like/X)
A special meeting of the Tshwane metro council that was held on Thursday to deal with “complaint of serious misconduct against a senior manager” raised eyebrows when the complaint was never presented to council members.
Lex Middelberg, council member of the Republican Conference of Tshwane, who lodged the complaint against the metro council’s chief financial officer, Gareth Mnisi, says he will now turn to the police with a criminal complaint of alleged fraud on a CV, and to the Public Protector (OB) over alleged maladministration.
The speaker, Mncedi Ndzwanana of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), adjourned the council meeting without even setting a date for when the complaint will be dealt with.
Maroela Media earlier reported that Middelberg claims Mnisi made misrepresentations in the CV on the basis of which he was appointed CFO at the metro council in 2023, when the DA’s Cilliers Brink and a multi-party coalition of, among others, the FF+ and ActionSA governed the metro council.
He also asked questions about the origin of the “fantastic wealth” that Mnisi amassed at a young age, while apparently only working for the state.
The meeting, which according to the speaker’s notice would take place behind closed doors, was nevertheless broadcast via a link sent to the media. Maroela Media followed it.
Immediately after the start of the meeting, the ANC requested a caucus of 30 minutes and the meeting adjourned for that. When it resumed, ANC councilor Aaron Maluleke, who is also head of executive affairs, pointed Ndzwanana to a letter he had sent two days before to “warn” the speaker that the report to be put before the council might not be ready in time.
After that, Dr. Nasiphi Moya, ActionSA’s mayor, stood up and presented the regulation contained in the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers. It states that any allegation of misconduct against a senior manager “must be tabled by the mayor or the municipal manager, as the case may be, before the municipal council, not later than seven days after receiving it…”
However, she added that the complaint is comprehensive and needs to be verified with outside sources to determine the way forward. “This is a report that touches the core of the city, because it implicates the department responsible for finances,” she said and asked that the matter be postponed until a later date “when we can present a solid report”.
Middelberg then rose on a point of order and insisted that the council launch an independent investigation within seven days of receiving such a complaint against a senior manager.
Moya then accused Middelberg of quoting only the part of the regulation that suits him. She said the report should inform the council whether to proceed with such an investigation or dismiss the complaint for lack of evidence. To make that choice, the council needs information that was not available to it.
The speaker then ruled that the meeting could not proceed without the required report and adjourned the meeting without setting any deadline for the report or a date for a follow-up meeting.
The timing of the complaint was earlier questioned by DA caucus leader Jacqui Uys, who maintained that Mnisi had obstructed efforts to gain access to tenders. She did not specify who she believed he obstructed.
However, the ANC’s Greater Tshwane region recently called for Mnisi’s suspension pending a forensic investigation. George Matjila, regional secretary, said during a media conference: “A full-fledged, independent forensic investigation must be instituted into all allegations of misconduct, maladministration and tender manipulation.”
Middelberg said after the meeting that the speaker had acted unlawfully to withhold the complaint from council members. He says most councilors still don’t know what the issue is about.
“At the meeting today, it was revealed by the leader of executive affairs (Maluleke) and the mayor – who was allowed to address the council about the absence of the allegations – that the mayor illegally inserted herself into the process and was preparing her own report on the allegations to counter the original allegations,” Middelberg said after the meeting.
“This is not a process provided for in the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers. The mayor has no role whatsoever to play in this process. The allegations must come directly to the council where councilors must consider them to decide whether or not they warrant the appointment of an independent investigation, and if such an investigation is authorized, to decide whether or not to suspend the senior manager pending the outcome.
“It should be noted that, once an independent investigator is appointed, parties lose influence over the narrative and may face an outcome they do not want and cannot control.
“So I can only conclude that the mayor’s interference in the process only aims to maintain control over the narrative and to steer the case away from a formal investigation.”
Middelberg argues that the DA and the FF+ indicated to him at the beginning of the meeting that they would not support any investigation into Mnisi that could possibly lead to their embarrassment, since they appointed him.
He says the EFF has also made it very clear to him that they are absolutely against any investigation into Mnisi based on his allegations.
“It is therefore abundantly clear that a majority of the council is looking for a way out to avoid this very serious issue, hence the delay in investigating the allegations in order to prepare a redundant report to advise the council on considering an investigation into the conduct of the Mnisi based on existing allegations,” he said.
