Pretoria - Former Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said he disclosed to the public protector that he was fixing the City's HR processes.
On Friday, Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane released a report in which she blasted Msimanga for endorsing the irregular appointment of senior managers in his office.
Msimanga came under fire in the report related to allegations that some senior staff in the office of the former mayor, now DA caucus leader in the Gauteng legislature, were irregular.
But last night, Msimanga said: “I had called for the overhauling of HR processes in addition to a full-on audit of all senior and middle management appointments made even before my time. I conceded to the public protector that I didn't go through all the gatekeeping excises as this would be processes performed by HR during application screenings. I could have checked the CVs of the applicants of the chief of staff instead of relying on HR processes.”
The same findings were made regarding senior appointments in the office of council speaker Katlego Mathebe.
Fingered in the report was Marietha Aucamp, Msimanga’s former chief of staff who resigned after it surfaced that she had lied about having a bachelor's degree required for her post.
Aucamp had been appointed in October 2016 on a salary of R1.2million a year.
Another official is erstwhile mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi, whose contract was terminated this year by city manager Moeketsi Mosola.
The report found that he possessed the necessary qualifications for the job but lacked the required experience.
The executive head in the office of the mayor, Stefan de Villiers, whose highest qualification was a matric, was also found to have been irregularly appointed.
Matthew Gerstner, former acting mayoral spokesperson, and Tiyiselani Babane, strategic executive head in the office of the speaker, were also investigated.
Mkhwebane found claims that Mgobozi, Aucamp and De Villiers were irregularly appointed were substantiated because the trio didn’t meet the minimum requirements for their positions.
Mkhwebane took a swipe at Msimanga for having failed to apply his mind in Aucamp’s appointment.
The report said: “he should have reasonably known that she didn’t have a post-matric qualification. He should have obtained legal advice from his officials on the appropriate way of appointing staff in his office.”
The report also pointed out that former acting city manager Lindiwe Kwele failed to act in the best interests of the metro in appointing Mgobozi, Aucamp and De Villiers.
It also emerged that City’s legal services department didn’t support the appointment of Mgobozi. Human Resources head Gerald Shingange was faulted for failing to advise on the suitability of Aucamp. The public protector said Shingange should be subject to a disciplinary process.
Mgobozi dismissed the report. “I have little faith in the report given how the public protector and the reports that emanate from her office are mired in controversy. I have given it over to my legal team and they will advise me on how to proceed and where this fits into my arbitration efforts with the City of Tshwane.”