Although Geoff Makhubo will remain mayor of the Johannesburg metro, two other ANC mayors in Gauteng have lost their respective posts.
Jacob Khawe, secretary general of the ANC, announced the decision of the provincial executive committee (PUK) in Gauteng at a media conference on Sunday.
According to Khawe, Maphefo Mogale-Letsie, executive mayor of the Merafong municipality and Boyce Maneli, executive mayor of the West Rand district municipality, must vacate their posts after the PUK accepted the recommendations in a report of the provincial integrity committee (PIK) .
Although the PIK could not determine that Mogale-Letsie and Maneli were involved in corruption, the PIK found that they had failed to act when their respective municipalities invested millions of rands in the controversial VBS bank.
More than R2 billion from this bank was allegedly looted.
Maneli may also no longer be a Member of Parliament.
Khawe said they welcomed the law enforcement agencies’ investigations into other officials involved, and called for the culprits to be arrested.
He also revealed that the PIK had acquitted Makhubo in a separate report on allegations of misconduct and a conflict of interest.
The allegations concern Makhubo’s firm, Molelwane Consulting, which allegedly received 10% of a controversial contract that Regiments received to manage a fund of the Johannesburg metro.
At the time of signing the contract, Makhubo did not hold any office in the metro or in the ANC. But as part of his job as mayoral committee member for finance in 2011, he was ordered to monitor that very contract.
Khawe said the PIK had conducted extensive interviews on the issue in its investigation and weighed all the available evidence before it.
When asked, Khawe said the PUK’s view is that the family of government officials should be allowed to do business with the state.
“It must not be a crime to do business and be related to the leadership if the right processes are followed. The key issue is that tenders must be awarded in a fair way. ”
Ace Magashule, secretary general of the ANC, recently said he did not know an ANC leader who did not do business with the state. He said he would support a law banning the family of government officials from doing business with the state.
