New mayor vows to find solution for GladAfrica

Newly appointed Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa has promised to stabilise the council and ensure that service delivery is on track. Mokgalapa was elected as mayor of Tshwane in a special council meeting in Pretoria yesterday, after Solly Msimanga vacated office. While Mokgalapa was being elected unopposed, his predecessor was being sworn in as a member of the Gauteng legislature, making a return to a post he held before being appointed mayor of Tshwane. In his speech to the council, Mokgalapa said he would build from the progress made by Msimanga. Mokgalapa was born and raised in Winterveldt, which is part of Tshwane metro. He joined the DA in 1999 and later served as a ward and PR councillor in the City of Tshwane for nine years.

He once served as the DA’s spokesperson of international relations. Mokgalapa committed himself to address one of the biggest problems that his predecessor faced, the controversial GladAfrica contract worth R1.2bn.

“I announce today that the irregular expenditure incurred in the GladAfrica contract will be investigated, recovered where possible and any implicated persons [will] be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

He said he would also be exploring all legal avenues to minimise associated risks for the city, including extracting the city from the contract which has been flagged by the auditor-general.

“I will ensure senior managers are held to the very highest standard that is required through an intense performance management system that I will review upon taking office. The city manager will account to me,” he said. Msimanga told Sowetan he wished he could have taken “a much proactive role in the appointment of some of the staff members” that ended up being in the news for the wrong reasons.

“It is part of the job, a learning experience and we move on from that.”

The former mayor has had a strained relationship with municipal manager Moeketsi Mosola after questions were raised over the awarding of the GladAfrica contract.

“It was not easy. We took over a very hostile administration. When we came in there was fighting that was taking place in council with bottles flying in the air,” Msimanga said.