Allegations of misuse of state funds, poor management and mistreatment of staff have finally resulted in the suspension of Joburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) head Dr Audrey Gule.
And while Gule, who has been on sick leave for almost a month, awaits the outcome of the investigation of the serious allegations against her, she will continue to be paid her salary, reported to be more than R100 000 a month.
Last month, rumours of the suspension of the city’s first woman head of emergency services were dismissed by the city’s mayoral committee. But this morning city spokesman Gabu Tugwana confirmed that Gule was formally suspended on Monday and will be on paid suspension until the allegations against her are settled at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. “She is innocent until proven guilty, and labour (laws) would not allow us to suspend her pay until the matter is dealt with,” he said.
In an interview with Talk Radio 702, Tugwana also said city manager Mavela Dlamini would be unable to comment on the allegations because he was part of the investigation, too.
Gule, who was the focus of an exposé on Carte Blanche last month, has been on sick leave since and is unavailable for comment. Efforts to contact her for a response this morning were unsuccessful.
DA spokesman for safety Darren Bergman told The Star that an investigation of the allegations against Gule, conducted by auditing firm PwC, had been going on since the middle of last year. According to Bergman, along with the financial problems at EMS, numerous allegations of racism and mistreatment by management were also under investigation. Bergman said he had been applying for a copy of the report on the investigation for the past six months, but there had been obstacles at every turn.
On May 15, ex-employees of EMS spoke out against Gule on Carte Blanche. But the only person willing to be publicly identified was her previous deputy director of finance, Rob Wiebosch. He had previously been employed by the City of Joburg for 35 years, and spoke of Gule’s alleged looting of the city’s coffers.
A trip to the US, costing R208 000 had already raised eyebrows, with Gule officially stating that she had repaid the massive amount to the city. But according to Wiebosch, city bookkeepers could find no trace of such a deposit. Gule was also accused of signing off on other needless expenses, such as a trip to the UK for a group of secretaries that set taxpayers back R380 000.
Taking over from Gule is acting EMS director of operations Tshepo Makola.