Media statement by Solly Msimanga Executive Mayor of Tshwane
The change in political leadership stemming from the August 2016 local elections and the accompanying changes to strategies and objectives regarding the way in which the City would direct its expenditure and resources and the urgent review of vanity projects have evidently hit a nerve.
African National Congress’s unashamed disruption of the State of the Capital Address
Behaving as expected, the African National Congress unashamedly disrupted the Executive Mayor of Tshwane’s maiden State of the Capital Address at the Tshwane Events Centre on Thursday under the guise of insisting that the special Council sitting commemorate the 38th anniversary of the execution of the Struggle hero, Solomon Mahlangu.
While the notion was a noble one, the ANC councillors completely undermined the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the will of the people and the rule of law in the way they carried out this petition. They were hell-bent on disrupting our programme of announcing to residents how the DA-led administration is going to deliver better services and provide opportunities so that they may live a better life as envisioned by Solomon Mahlangu and many other Struggle heroes.
Nonetheless, I want to say to the disobedient councillors that whatever form, shape or size the disruptions take, we will continue to deliver on our mandate of enhancing the quality of lives and delivering better services to the people of Tshwane.
We will not be deterred from delivering. To the people of Tshwane I say: You have seen how representatives of the ANC conduct themselves when they do not get their way. Is this really the calibre of people we want to take our country forward?
Setting the record straight on the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Chief
Following the gross insubordination by the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) at Thursday’s SoCA, I, the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, in consultation with the City Manager, resolved to immediately and formally withdraw the sub-delegation of the Police Chief’s powers and functions.
This effectively meant that the Chief of the TMPD, Steven Ngobeni, was barred from discharging his functions as Police Chief because of his failure to act. Those powers have been reinstated (07 April 2017) until such time as the Executive Mayor and the City Manager decide on the way forward in managing our law enforcement.
This came after his failure to act after being given lawful instructions to eject the disruptive ANC councillors from the chamber during a special sitting of Council scheduled for the delivery of SoCA. This, in effect, made him complicit in the corrosion of the constitutional principles that govern a democratically elected Council.
In dereliction of his duty to act, Ngobeni also undermined the will of the people of Tshwane who had every right to hear the plans the DA-led administration had to deliver better services to them.
Ngobeni is duty-bound to uphold the law by restoring order to Council as he vowed to do. However, after the events of Thursday, it would appear that he failed to do so.
One can only deduce from this abandoning of his constitutional duties that his instructions come from elsewhere and that he was likely “acting” at the behest of his handlers at Luthuli House. This is a deeply concerning trend that we have noticed and we will not tolerate administrative functionaries of the capital to abuse their power to further narrow party political ends at the expense of the rule of law which requires that law enforcement act in the public interest free from fear, favour or prejudice.
This dubious conduct was later evidenced in the confusion created by an official within local law enforcement, in consultation with the SAPS, in their ill-conceived decision to deny a protest that the Executive Mayor and MMC for Community Safety gave their blessing to go ahead. This blessing was given in the public interest and in celebration of the people’s constitutional right to protest.
As such, it would appear that poor decision-making and party political antics are rife within the police service from the very top.
City of Tshwane acts to fix shambolic fleet situation
The City of Tshwane will apply to the High Court for a declaratory order to confirm that no agreement between the City and the Moipone Group of Companies ever came into existence.
We will also appeal an interdict obtained by Moipone which prevents us from procuring fleet management services from other service providers.
The City’s relationship with Moipone arises from a public-private partnership (PPP) for the exclusive supply, repair and maintenance of City vehicles. Two other service providers are contracted under the PPP.
When the multiparty government took power in August last year we found the City’s fleet in shambles, including the following:
- Officials could not account for the location of thousands of owned and leased vehicles.
- Hundreds of vehicles to be repaired or serviced stood idle at City depots.
- The internal capacity of the City to complete even minor services had been completely diminished.
- No coherent system or standard operating procedures applied to the City’s management of vehicles.
- A forensic report implicated a former City service provider in corrupt collusion with officials.
The shambolic state of the City’s fleet pointed not only to the breakdown of internal controls and capacity, but to delinquent service providers.
The most delinquent of these service providers seemed to be the Moipone Group of Companies. In fact, it seemed to us that Moipone never had the capacity to perform its obligations under the PPP.
We further discovered that Moipone had never complied with a suspensive condition in the PPP, namely to provide a guarantee to the City.
In other words, Moipone never had the goods to deliver.
This is the basis on which the City is now approaching the High Court to declare that our supposed contract with Moipone never came about.
But we are not stopping there. We want to know how a company in Moipone’s condition could have passed through the very rigorous requirements that apply to PPPs in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
So earlier this year the City also ordered a forensic investigation into the procurement of the entire fleet PPP known as CB54/2013. There are just too many facts pointing to gross irregularity at the expense of residents.
If we discover that the PPP was an attempt at state capture by politically connected tenderpreneurs, we will also cancel other agreements under the PPP.
This administration is determined to ensure that every tender and contract with service providers will be competitive, transparent and provide value for money for the City of Tshwane and its residents.
The days of local government state capture are over, and this administration will not hesitate to nullify unlawful contracts and or take actions against officials who wish to compromise service delivery.
Call for public comment on the draft 2017–2021 Tshwane Integrated Development Plan and draft 2017/18 Medium-term Revenue and Expenditure Framework
The 2017–2021 IDP presented in this document is significant for the City in two ways. First, the document is first IDP of the new elected administration and guides the way for the fourth term of local government.
Second, the IDP seeks to ensure that by 2021 the development trajectory of the City will result in:
- An opportunity city
- A sustainable city
- A caring and inclusive city
- A safe and clean city
- An open and honest city
Copies of the IDP are available at municipal libraries and customer care centres. It can also be accessed on the City’s website. The closing date for submissions is 28 April at 15:00.
Anyone who wishes to make comments must submit them at IDPcomments@tshwane.gov.za or hand-deliver them to the City Strategy and Organisational Performance Department at Room 14005, 14th Floor, Isivuno House.
Submissions on the draft MTREF (and related tariffs) should be sent to stephanieb@tshwane.gov.za or hand-delivered to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer Division, 4th Floor, Room 427, BKS Building, 373 Pretorius Street.
Making our communities safe
Our manifesto states that in order to make our communities safe, we would establish specialist crime prevention units in the metro to focus on specific priority crimes like gangsterism and drugs. We keep true to this promise.
Plans are underway to officially launch the newly established Anti-hijack Unit within the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department.
Upon assuming office, I donated ten new luxury BMW vehicles which were bought for politicians by the previous administration to the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department where they will serve in the new Anti-hijack Unit. The vehicles which have high-capacity engine power, will be used to prevent and respond to hijackings, high-speed chases and fast response. In consultation with Cllr Kissoonduth, we will announce the details of the official opening of this very strategic unit within the TMPD.