I have received another letter from the MEC of COGTA, Uhuru Moiloa, incorrectly utilising the Municipal Systems Act to wage political war against our multi-party government.
Previously, MEC Moiloa tried to initiate a Section 106 investigation into the City of Johannesburg purely on the basis of a complaint received by the ANC in Johannesburg.
Section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act is reserved for the most serious violations of governance principles intended to lead towards a municipality being placed under administration.
On this occasion, MEC Moiloa has relied entirely upon an article in The Star published on 21 January 2019 to institute proceedings according to Section 105 of the Municipal Systems Act. The article in question referred erroneously to our Group Forensics Unit committing R100 million in wasteful and unauthorised expenditure. This claim was fully refuted by the City and adequately covered in the article.
It is worth noting that the City of Johannesburg has received no support in its efforts to combat fraud and corruption from either National or Provincial Government. Now, Johannesburg’s entirely unique anti-corruption unit is in the cross hairs of MEC Moiloa.
Classifying expenditure as either wasteful or unauthorised is the exclusive preserve of the Auditor General, however MEC Moiloa has relied upon a media article to enact serious legislation.
It would appear that, once again, MEC Moiloa is abusing the provisions of law to wage a political war against the multi-party government in Johannesburg. If one were to assess the dates and in which municipalities in Gauteng these processes are being instituted, I believe you would discover the political motives behind MEC Moiloa’s actions.
It is important to note that MEC Moiloa also occupies the Human Settlements portfolio, which gazetted a reduction in the City of Johannesburg’s Housing Grant in November last year. After challenging this decision, the matter has recently been reversed.
I will be lodging an official complaint with Premier David Makhura regarding the actions of MEC Moiloa and his detrimental impact on the co-operative governance mandate. The only question will become whether MEC Moiloa is abusing the law for political ends on his own, or whether this is part of a broader, state-sanctioned mission to undermine multi-party governments. The Premier’s response to this complaint will reveal much in this regard.
Ultimately, the City of Johannesburg will not stand for the abuse of law by MEC Moiloa. The mandate of delivering change to the residents of Johannesburg will not be undermined by an ANC coordinated effort to take back municipalities they lost in 2016.
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
