Johannesburg – The recent suspension of five senior officials by the City of Tshwane has widened the rift between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), which it accuses of attempting to score political points.
The ANC Greater Tshwane Region on Tuesday said: “It has noted with keen interest the suspension of five senior officials in the City of Tshwane”.
The ANC added: “The suspension of the senior managers who are allegedly implicated in the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant project was widely reported by different media houses at variance with the correct processes of Council.”
The Tshwane Council sanctioned and commissioned an investigation amid slow progress and suspicion of misappropriation of funds in the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant project.
“Council is still awaiting the report to be tabled so that it can be able to apply itself to the contents thereof and to communicate to the City of Tshwane residents that we represent,” the ANC said.
“However, we have seen the City Manager and the Executive Mayor appropriating Council business to themselves.”
The ANC added: “The DA-led coalition wants to control the narrative about good governance, and they have desperately finalised the matter of Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant for campaigning reasons and electioneering”.
The conclusion and sanction that the Disciplinary Committee reached and meted out, respectively, was a guilty finding on one out of five charges and a recommended suspension of one month without pay.
“We are shocked that the DA Mayor wants to take a decision of his own process to the Labour Court for review,” the ANC said
“We view this as a distrust of the City’s internal disciplinary processes and may indicate that the DA Mayor is now on a witch-hunt.”
The ANC said it supports all efforts to combat corruption and malfeasance but will not allow the DA-led coalition to play politics instead of following all Council procedures.
