Dieter Wetsch

Comments by @ME_Beaumont ActionSA notes reports emanating from the City of Tshwane that its implicated Group Chief Financial Officer, Gareth Mnisi, left Tshwane House today accompanied by SARS officials following an operation involving search warrants at his office and residence. This development is welcomed by ActionSA and serves as a timely reminder to the residents of Tshwane about what transpired during the disciplinary processes against Mnisi. Mnisi’s return to work with merely a slap on the wrist in the wake of the damning evidence against him presented at the Madlanga Commission was entirely born of the actions and inactions of the ANC, EFF and DA. The ANC and EFF were insistent that the charges against Mnisi should be deemed ‘minor in nature’ in order for them to result only in a warning, paving the way for his return to work in the City. This was in the face of serious findings against Mnisi from an independent forensic investigation. The ANC and EFF attempted to apply pressure on ActionSA to join them in this action, but ActionSA refused and voted in Council to classify the charges as serious in nature and warranting serious disciplinary action. The DA, on the other hand, absented 19 of its councillors from Council on the day the matter was being addressed, citing party responsibilities as the reason for their absence. This was despite a previous Council meeting two weeks earlier setting up the Council meeting in question, leaving no ambiguity as to what it was about. After seven hours of the meeting, the DA attempted to withdraw their leave applications, and the Speaker refused – a decision that was later overturned in court as legally defective. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Under the applicable disciplinary regulations, a precautionary suspension automatically lapses if disciplinary proceedings have not commenced within three months. By voting to classify the allegations against Mnisi as minor in nature, rather than proceeding with serious disciplinary charges, Council failed to initiate the disciplinary proceedings necessary within that period. Consequently, Mnisi’s precautionary suspension lapsed, allowing him to return to work. The DA may wish to claim its court victory, but nothing will change the fact that the disputed Council decision, which ultimately contributed to Mnisi’s return, would not have arisen in the same circumstances had its councillors done what they are paid to do and shown up for Council. Why does this history matter? It offers a perspective on how political parties approach the work of accountability of implicated municipal officials. The ANC and EFF brazenly protect such officials for reasons South Africans can deduce, and the DA is too incompetent to give expression to its verbal stance against corruption. This entire matter is now a timely reminder for the residents of Tshwane and beyond, because any further evidence or charges arising from the SARS investigation may provide grounds for the City of Tshwane to institute new disciplinary proceedings and address what failed before. The only question, between now and then, is what the numbers in Tshwane will look like arising from the local government elections next week. If Tshwane residents who have previously voted ANC, EFF or DA want to see accountability for Mnisi, they need to make ActionSA the biggest party and return Nasiphi Moya to the mayoralty in our capital. If they want their city’s finances to be led by a financially implicated official, they should persist in their votes for the ANC, EFF or DA. It is that simple.