DA top brass wants Mashaba to explain
Executive to ask mayor about consulting former associate
The DA’s top brass will ask Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba for an explanation on the use of a former business associate who advised him on the insourcing of security workers in the city. DA chairman James Selfe said that if the explanation given was not satisfactory, it could lead to further investigation.
The DA’s top brass will ask Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba for an explanation on the use of a former business associate who advised him on the insourcing of security workers in the city.
DA chairman James Selfe told Business Day that if the explanation given to the DA’s federal executive committee is not satisfactory, it could lead to further investigation.
On Monday Sowetan newspaper reported that Mashaba had appointed Akhter Deshmukh, a financial director of Lephatsi Financial Services, which is owned by his wife, Connie, to help with the financial modelling of the insourcing of the security workers.
Mashaba demanded a retraction from the newspaper, claiming that Deshmukh had delivered his service for free and that it had nothing to do with Lephatsi Financial Services because the help was given in Deshmukh’s personal capacity.
However, DA insiders have raised concern about the “perception” that this could create.
Mashaba has been against corruption and for clean governance. He has already axed three MMCs — Anthony Still, Sharon Peetz and Rabelani Dagada — during his period in office.
His corruption-busting unit is headed by former Gauteng Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya.
The controversy surrounding Mashaba follows issues with Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille, who narrowly survived a motion of no confidence brought by the DA.
De Lille is also facing an internal disciplinary process by the party, but has argued that the onslaught on her is politically motivated.
On top of Mashaba having to account to his party about what had transpired, the ANC in Johannesburg has indicated that it will write to the speaker of the city, Vasco da Gama, to refer the matter to the city’s ethics committee.
Jolidee Matongo, spokesman for the ANC in Johannesburg, told Business Day the ANC will raise the issue in the council meeting on Thursday, as part of the institutional review. Matongo said that there had to be a process in the city to take such a decision and that it could not be left up to Mashaba to make the decision on his own.
He said a process should have been opened up and advertised with the clause that the city could not afford it, after which people could then offer their services.
Matongo said the city could have then chosen someone who could have helped with the financial modelling.
However, John Moodey, DA leader in Gauteng, said it was not necessary for Mashaba to put out a tender for it, as there were no financial implications for the City of Johannesburg.
Moodey said that the ANC was blowing it out of proportion and that Mashaba had committed no crime.
He said seeking advice was not uncommon.
Mashaba said in a statement on Monday that it was made explicitly clear that “any assistance given would not entitle any individual or any organisation they may be associated with to any existing or future business with the city”.
Luyanda Mfeka, Mashaba’s spokesman, said if the DA wanted the issue to be interrogated even further by the integrity commissioner, it was more than welcome and the administration had nothing to hide.
DA INSIDERS HAVE RAISED CONCERN OVER THE PERCEPTION THAT THIS COULD CREATE