Yesterday the Speaker of Council, according to his powers in the Standing Rules and Orders of Council, has decided to publically release the Integrity Commissioner’s report into the allegations against former MMC Rabelani Dagada.
The Integrity Commissioner is an independent authority, appointed by Council, responsible for investigating the conduct of Councillors in the City of Johannesburg.
Mr Dagada’s resignation voided any further process in respect of the matter and it was determined by the Speaker that the release of the report on this matter is in the public interest.
In July 2018, Dagada resigned as a Councillor and as a member of the DA prior to the conclusion of the disciplinary investigations of both the City and the Party.
This stood in stark contradiction to Dagada’s public utterances in which he claimed to look forward to clearing his name.
The report of the Integrity Commissioner arose from the forensic investigation instituted against Dagada which produced findings resulting in my decision to terminate Dagada as the MMC of Finance.
The investigation produced serious findings against Mr Dagada, including breaching the MFMA and acting against the interests of the City. This took the form of advising a service provider with whom he was closely associated, to charge the City more for their services. This was done by covertly using a WITs University email address in the hopes it wouldn’t be detected. When this email was located by the forensic investigators, Mr Dagada attempted to threaten both the City and WITS with legal action.
The fact that the Integrity Commissioner, through an entirely independent investigation has arrived at similar conclusions, serves to demonstrate how Mr Dagada has been the author of his own demise.
The report of the Integrity Commissioner has affirmed the findings of the forensic investigation. Specifically, Adv Rampai has found that:
• “The non-declaration by Cllr Dagada of his directorships, the non-disclosure of the benefit that Radongo acquired or stood to acquire and the non-disclosure of his existing relationship with Mukwevho was, in my view, an elaborate plot he hatched to deliberately conceal his unlawful and unethical behaviour to the detriment of the municipality.”
• “Cllr Dagada admitted to me that he knew that because of the timing of the RFQ [Request for Quotation] and the R200 000 budget allocated to the project, Mukwevho stood the best chance of being awarded the contract. This knowledge rather confirms the suspicion that the timing of the advertisement was a scheme calculated to benefit Mukwevho and he, Cllr Dagada, was the mastermind behind this scheme.”
• “Cllr Dagada in aiding Mukwevho in structuring the offer, consciously and designedly contributed to the maladministration in the municipal Council.”
• “In light of the aforegoing, I am satisfied that Cllr Dagada had full knowledge that his conduct involved dishonesty, financial mismanagement and amounted to conflict of interest. It is also significant that Cllr Dagada and Mukwevho had plotted against the municipality and they both acted contrary to the interests of the municipality whilst trying to benefit their own interests.”
• “Cllr Dagada tendered his resignation from the Council of the City of Joburg on 12 July 2018, a day after attending an enquiry held by the Integrity Commissioner on 11 July 2018.”
Mr Dagada has gone to great and imaginative lengths to defend himself by attempting to tarnish the reputation of those who held him accountable for his actions. This has included Mr Dagada sharing elaborate conspiracy theories of witch-hunts.
The reality is that The Star reported the story of Mr Dagada’s misconduct, after which the City initiated an independent forensic investigation.
With the City inheriting staggering levels of fraud and corruption, it is required of political leadership to lead by example in rooting out these practices. Mr Dagada was appointed as the MMC of Finance with a mandate to correct these practices, a large amount originating from his Finance Department.
The fact that Mr Dagada used his position of authority to advantage those close to him, against the interests of our City, is the ultimate betrayal to the residents of our City. Criminal charges will be laid, and I intend to see Mr Dagada answer for his actions in court.
Mr Dagada’s new found friendship and support for the ANC must be seen as consistent with his complete absence of morals, ethics or respect for the residents of our City.
Cllr Herman Mashaba
Executive Mayor
City of Joburg
Media enquiries:
Luyanda Mfeka
Director: Mayoral Communications
Office of the Executive Mayor
Cell: 076 171 5978
Email: luyandam@joburg.org.za
