Tshwane city manager heads to labour court over tender probe

Tshwane city manager Moeketsi Mosola has filed an urgent application with the Labour Court in Johannesburg in a bid to interdict a probe and an interim report into procurement irregularities allegedly involving him. 

The investigation into Mosola was in relation to a tender granted to engineering consultants GladAfrica, which would have managed the city’s infrastructure budget, estimated to be about R12bn over a three-year period, through a project management unit (PMU).

The investigation was approved by council in September, but Mosola was not suspended pending its outcome, despite a warning by mayor Solly Msimanga in a confidential report that his presence would be detrimental to the stability of the municipality.

The actual contract with GladAfrica was open-ended and did not include a maximum amount of how much their work would cost the city.

In a notice of motion, Mosola asked that the court hear the urgent application on Thursday — the same day a council committee was expected to discuss the interim report.

It is understood that the report was given to Msimanga last week. 

Mosola has asked the court to interdict the investigation and the report, be it in draft, interim or final form. This was pending the second part of his application, which was for the resolution taken by council in September to be declared unlawful. 

Msimanga said in a statement on Wednesday that the city would be “opposing this interdict in the interests of getting to the bottom of the matter and accounting to council and the ratepayers of Tshwane who deserve to know the truth”. 

Msimanga, however, said Mosola’s application for an urgent interdict was at odds with public statements he made in August, when he said the process to appoint GladAfrica was in compliance with Tshwane’s supply chain management as well as the Municipal Finance Management Act.

“If everything is above board, it is puzzling that he would seek to interdict this report on the eve of it serving before council for deliberation, particularly after committing to ‘submit all the necessary documentation surrounding this contract for public scrutiny’, ” Msimanga said.

Meanwhile the city scored what it called a “decisive victory” after the High Court in Pretoria ordered that it does not have to acquire thousands of smart meters from a service provider, after the city successfully got out of a R2bn contract last year.

The contract with PEU Capital Partners and its subsidiary, TUMS was set aside by the court last year after litigation on the contract was initiated by Afrisake, and later joined by the city, after the change in government following the 2016 local government elections.

The city can now remove around 13 000 PEU smart meters that were already installed, and replace them with their own meters and systems.