Mayor dumps move to take Mosola report to special council
Investigation now complete
Tshwane mayor Solly Msimnga has made an about-turn on calling a special council meeting to discuss the report into the awarding of a R12bn tender by its municipal manager, Moeketsi Mosola.
Contrary to what Msimanga had told Sowetan on two occasions, he’s no longer going to call a special council to discuss findings on Mosola that the city expected to receive yesterday.
Mosola was under investigation for allegedly having irregularly awarded the three-year project management contract to Glad Africa.
Msimanga’s spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said yesterday: “The report will be handed over to the mayor, who will apply his mind before tabling it before council on Thursday.”
However, this is in sharp contrast to what Msimanga said last month where he said as soon as the report was received, it would be tabled before a special council sitting.
Msimanga’s office yesterday downplayed the about-turn saying that the mayor had made a “mistake” by committing to a special council.
“When the mayor said that, he didn’t have the calendar in front of him... there’s no need to call a special council as there’s council taking place this month,” Mgobozi said.
Mgobozi said the mayor “does make mistakes” too.
The much-awaited report was expected to lift the lid on the role allegedly played by Mosola in the awarding of the contract to Glad Africa without following council procurement procedures.
The controversial contract, which sees Glad Africa providing project management on all Tshwane capital expenditure projects for three years, almost led to the collapse of the multi-party coalition government in the capital.
Firstly, Msimanga called a special council sitting in August, tabling a report which recommended Mosola’s suspension for his role in the Glad Africa deal, sparking an angry walkout by the EFF accusing the DA of hounding the city manager out of office.
This saw the EFF tabling an urgent motion of no confidence against Msimanga.
Although the motion was subsequently dismissed by speaker Katlego Mathebe, it apparently softened Msimanga’s approach towards Mosola.