Tshwane’s mayor to tackle skeletons
SOLLY Msimanga, the DA’s newly-elected mayor in Tshwane, aims to rid the administrative capital of “vanity projects” and review the metro’s organogram with a view to trim the fat.
The Tshwane Open golf tournament, which costs the metro R40-million to host, will be first on the chopping block.
Msimanga, the first opposition mayor in Tshwane since the dawn of democracy, also plans to get to the bottom of the Dinokeng scandal — the city forked out R10-million to hiphop artist Nicki Minaj to perform at a music festival even though she never showed up.
Hours after he was sworn in on Friday, Msimanga told the Sunday Times that city bosses would have to convince him of the benefits of the Tshwane Open before he would allow it to continue.
“We will not have vanity projects. If we do not get value out of that, I do not see why it should continue. But if we do get value, we will find a way of making it better,” he said.
“So far, I am not convinced that it has been of great value. Nobody has ever been able to convince me that, out of the millions we spend, this is the amount of investment that has flowed in as a result of that kind of initiative,” he added.
Msimanga, from Atteridgeville, will review the organogram with particular focus on the office of the city manager, in which the manager has four deputies who each earn R2-million a year and their boss takes home R3-million annually.
City manager Jason Ngobeni resigned on Friday soon after overseeing new council Speaker NEW BROOM: Solly Msimanga with Marietha Aucamp at his swearing-in ceremony on Friday Rachel Mathebe’s election.
Ngobeni’s contract expires at the end of the month.
“It was going to be difficult to consider [renewing Ngobeni’s contract]. Remember, we had damning reports from the auditor-general [about] expenditure in the city. Some contracts have been awarded illegally, and we’re looking into that,” he said, referring to the Dinokeng scandal and the PEU Capital Partners smart meter contract that cost the city R950-million to cancel.
Msimanga is meeting heads of departments tomorrow to outline his vision and get a status report from them.
He said: “We will have a relook at the organogram, starting with the office of the new city manager. I am worried we had too many people without knowing who was doing what.
“It doesn’t mean we will fire everyone, but you may find there are people who hold positions they are not qualified for. We might have to move them. I am not about purging.”
Msimanga would prioritise basic services and deploy 10 metro police in each of the city’s 107 wards to tackle crime. ALL IN THE FAMILY: Maphumulo deputy mayor Zama Ncalane and her father, Frank, a councillor