Claims of nepotism against Whitehead

ANC threatens to report the commissioner to public protector

THE ANC in the City Council has threatened to approach the public protector over allegations of corruption and nepotism against Cape Town Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA) commissioner Melissa Whitehead.

This comes after the City council’s portfolio committee on transport and urban development heard that Whitehead has awarded a tender without following due process and placed her friends in higher job positions. The ANC councillor, Bheki Hadebe, told the committee that the party has in its possession a dossier detailing evidence of alleged corruption and nepotism by Whitehead. “We will be approaching the public protector to give her (Whitehead) an opportunity to clear her name because she did not want to entertain the matter when it was brought before the committee (on) October 18. She had enough time to consider and prepare,” said Hadebe.

It is alleged that Whitehead appointed two of her friends, a married couple, to high positions in her department whom she went overseas with for seven days.

It is asserted that she appointed the wife as a portfolio manager and the husband as a principal officer.

“The wife is earning R1.8 million per annum, the husband is earning over a million per annum. The person who is on the same level with the wife, a coloured lady… who has more experience and (is) more qualified is earning less than R1.5m.”

According to the dossier, black directors who differ in opinion with the commissioner are taken to disciplinary hearings.

Whitehead is also accused of awarding a tender worth R326m to a Chinese company, BYD, before it was advertised.

The company was awarded the tender in October to procure electrical buses for the City. Apart from the buses, BYD is also required to provide the City with charging stations, data management systems, spare parts, technical support, training for the bus drivers and mechanical staff, fleet maintenance services and replacement of the batteries when required. The dossier is said also to contain correspondence e-mails where the parties to a tender contract, including the commissioner went to China, met with company and thereafter advertised and awarded the tender to BYD.

Whitehead refuted allegations of nepotism and corruption. She said: “There is a declaration process and whenever I know someone it is always declared. All the processes were followed. In terms of short-listing, I did not do (that), I was there in the interviews, but I declared it. I did not make the decision, the committee made that decision.”