Tshwane mayor faces no confidence test

04/04/2013. Executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa talks to the media after delivering his state of the city address. Picture: Masi Losi

04/04/2013. Executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa talks to the media after delivering his state of the city address. Picture: Masi Losi

Published Jul 30, 2015

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 Pretoria - Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa will have to negotiate stormy waters in the council on Thursday when the DA tables a motion of no confidence in him.

Ramokgopa will be removed from office with immediate effect if the council adopts the motion, which is highly unlikely given the fact that the ANC is the majority in the council.

The DA has also submitted a motion for the commencement of disciplinary proceedings against municipal manager Jason Ngobeni.

In terms of this motion, Ngobeni should be put on suspension while an independent investigator is appointed to investigate the allegations of misconduct against him.

The motions were submitted by DA chief whip Marietha Aucamp and were expected to be tabled during the July sitting at the Sammy Marks council chamber on Thursday morning.

Aucamp said the DA expected the Speaker of the council Morakane Mosupyoe-Letsholo to disallow the motion and to protect the mayor.

“Even if the motion against Ramokgopa is allowed, we expect ANC members to vote against it,” she said.

But Ramokgopa was not bothered on Wednesday, and said he was looking forward to attending the council meeting.

He said he was convinced the council would focus on the business of the city and updates on progress being made in the various game-changing initiatives under Tshwane Vision 2055.

Ramokgopa said: “We remind the opposition and their new-found allies that the council represents the interests of the electorate.

“Therefore, the highest decision-making process in post-apartheid South Africa, remains the ballot box, and not a disgruntled minority.

“The DA should exercise patience and wait to test the popularity and confidence of the people in the 2016 local government elections.”

The motion has its roots in the terminated electricity pre-paid smart meters contract with PEU Capital Partners.

It centres on the correspondence from the National Treasury and former finance minister Pravin Gordhan to Ramokgopa and Ngobeni advising them not to continue with the contract.

The documents were distributed by the DA at a media briefing a few weeks ago.

The DA is accusing the two of failing to disclose this information to the council when the contract was discussed and approved in 2013.

Ngobeni did not fulfil an obligation to disclose to the council and the mayor all the material facts which were available to the accounting officer or reasonably discoverable, and which might have influenced the decisions, the party said.

The DA further argued that the correspondence from the National Treasury in particular should have been disclosed by the municipal manager to the council as part of the report of May 30, 2013.

Knowledge of the contents of the letter may very well have influenced councillors not to vote in favour of the conclusion of the contract with PEU, the party said.

“The failure of the municipal manager to disclose the existence of any contents of the correspondence is a breach of his fiduciary duties.

“His failure to report regularly to the council on the progress of the execution of the PEU contract was a breach of legislation and constitutes serious misconduct in terms of the disciplinary regulations.”

Mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale said Ramokgopa had openly engaged citizens and clarified the PEU debacle sufficiently and would continue to do so.

He said the motion was another of the DA’s desperate attempts for a regime change.

ANC Tshwane regional spokesperson, Teboho Joala, said the allegations against the executive mayor and city manager were baseless.

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