Pretoria - Former Nelson Mandela Bay Metro police chief Yolanda Faro is set to head the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) after the council last week approved a report recommending her appointment despite the EFF’s criticism that she lacked recent experience for the position.
Her appointment came under attack from the EFF despite the fact that she was at the helm of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Police Department from 2016 to 2022.
Faro possesses a national police diploma, traffic national diploma, a bachelor of technology degree in policing and has vast experience in safety and security experience.
She will take over the reins from acting police chief Basil Nkwashu, who assumed the role after former police chief Johanna Nkomo’s term of office expired.
Faro will join the municipality at a time when the metro police department is dogged by controversies emanating from the unbecoming conduct of some officers.
Some months back, it came to light that the department employed more than 200 officers with criminal records during the first phase of insourcing of security guards in 2020.
The implicated metro officers were in trouble with the law for crimes ranging from bribery to extortion, assault and armed robbery. At least 49 of them were in hot water because of serious charges emanating from previous criminal convictions.
To tackle the corrupt behaviour of metro police officers, the City gave the public permission to ask for their appointment certificates, take their photos and vehicle number plates.
The Pretoria News reported last year that some TMPD members were implicated in soliciting a R12 000 “spot fine” from a Centurion couple in order to let them off the hook after they were pulled over.
The EFF’s criticism against Faro was made after the council approved her appointment following a recruitment process for Section 56 managers.
The council also passed reports for appointments for chief of emergency services, chief financial officer, chief operations officer, chief audit executive, group head for strategy and management support and governance and support officer.
EFF councillor Benjamin Mathe- bula claimed that Faro led a team of 70 metro police officers during her tenure at Nelson Mandela Bay.
“She is being brought here to serve a city of 4000+ officers,” he said.
Mathebula also asked during a council sitting where the City would get money to relocate candidates who used to work at Nelson Mandela Bay when Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler was still in charge at that municipality.
Mettler was criticised by the party for recruiting senior managers from his former municipality and ferrying them “in a taxi” to occupy positions in Tshwane.
The position of the chief operating officer was given to Vuyo Zitumane, also a former senior manager at Nelson Mandela Bay and the Amathole water board.
In a media statement, EFF regional leader Obakeng Ramabodu said the party rejected the appointments for both metro police chief and chief operating officer.
“We firmly believe that the appointment process was flawed and lacked transparency, fairness and inclusivity. In light of the discrepancies we have identified, we demand that the process be started afresh to ensure that qualified and deserving candidates are selected for these crucial roles,” he said.
Ramabodu claimed Zitumane, as former chief executive at the Amathole water board, “was accused of flouting procurement processes relating to Covid-19, and she was later not prosecuted by National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) due to the blanket approach by the NPA not to prosecute Covid-19-related cases”.
“This did not happen because she was innocent or vindicated. During the squabble of the then mayor, Mr Athol Trollip, and his (late) deputy, Mr Mongameli Bobani, in 2017, the name of the candidate was the bone of contention when the then city manager Johann Mettler wanted to appoint the candidate in question. That means that the current city manager who appointed the same candidate moves around with senior leadership across various institutions,” he said.
Executive mayor Cilliers Brink expressed satisfaction that the council had approved the appointment of qualified and fit-for-purpose senior Section 56 managers, saying candidates would be instrumental in turning around the City, breaking the networks of corruption and focusing resources towards service delivery.
“This is an important development for the City. The senior Section 56 managers will help to change the organisational culture to one of high performance and professionalism.
“This set of managers will be appointed on a permanent basis and will report directly to the city manager. Their appointment comes after a rigorous and thorough recruitment process where the best candidates emerged,” Brink said.
Pretoria News