Did the ANC and Nasiphi Moya give suspended Tshwane CFO a ‘soft landing’?
· Citizen
The DA has accused the mayor of Tshwane, Nasiphi Moya, and her coalition partners of ignoring the serious allegations that the municipality’s suspended CFO, Gareth Mnisi, faces.
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This comes after the council adopted a report on Thursday classifying the allegations that Mnisi faces as “less serious” despite him being accused of tender rigging, leaking confidential tender documents, and manipulating procurement processes.
He was specifically alleged to have used his position to influence a multi-billion-rand security contract in favour of preferred bidders.
He testified at the Madlanga Commission that he is a close friend of controversial policeman Fannie Nkosi, whose name has come up in testimony at the commission. Despite all this information, the council decided that the nature of these allegations is not serious.
“Having considered the nature of the allegations and the applicable legislative framework, the council further determined that the allegations constitute less serious misconduct as contemplated in Part I of Annexure A to the Regulations.
“The disciplinary process will now proceed in accordance with the prescribed statutory procedures,” said Moya in a media statement on Thursday.
‘Soft landing’
In a media briefing on Friday, the DA’s mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink, said Mnisi is receiving political protection from the ANC and its partners.
“There was the option of saying his conduct or the allegations against him were of a serious nature. Clearly, they were…I can inform you that what the forensic report found against Mnisi was a serious breaches of supply chain management regulations of the code of conduct, and failure to disclose his financial interests. That clearly falls within the definition of the disciplinary regulations on senior managers within the category of serious misconduct.
“And so, if misconduct is serious, it holds the possibility of serious sanctions like dismissal. But the ANC brought an amendment to the report saying the allegations are less serious. As a result of that decision, Mnisi will not be able to be dismissed by the city. In other words, he was given a soft landing by the ANC-led coalition,” he alleged.
The DA’s court bid
Brink said it is clear that Moya and her coalition partners are doing their best to protect Mnisi from coming under fire.
He said the DA is considering approaching the courts to set aside the decisions that were taken in Thursday’s council meeting.
“We are currently consulting our attorneys like we are in court on another irregularity related the ANC’s deputy mayor Eugene Modise, we are willing to go to court on this matter,” said Brink.
Moya back-tracking?
Moya’s support for the stance her coalition partners have taken on Mnisi comes as a surprise, since earlier this year she told the media that she would not support them if they went against the principles of good governance.
“If any of us are found to be wrong, the coalition will end. We have a responsibility to the people of Tshwane to restore this institution.
“We cannot restore it by doing the wrong things. So, there is no fear that we cannot act on one of us because the coalition is corrupt,” she said.