How Ekurhuleni officials 'changed' laws to escape accountability

FORMER City of Ekurhuleni Divisional Head of Employee Relations Xolani Nciza described as “illegal, inappropriate, and against the best interests of the municipality” the decision to modify laws in a bid to apparently shield Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief, Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi, from disciplinary proceedings.

Mkhwanazi, who has since been suspended, signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) illegally with companies linked to Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. The MoUs would have resulted in the outsourcing of blue light services, legal, health, mayoral VIP Protection Services, and the administration of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund to Matlala, the tenderpreneur accused of attempted murder. The companies involved were CAT VIP Security and Medicare24.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission, Nciza said that the City Manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, sent a letter or internal memo changing the rules on the handling of disciplinary proceedings.

The letter read: “Request for allegations to be investigated must be submitted to HOD Corporate Legal Services (Advocate Kemi Behari). Upon determination of a prima facie case, the HOD Corporate Legal Services (HOD CLS) will confirm the allegations, consider the evidential material, and then submit a report to HOD Human Resources (Linda Gxasheka).”

Nciza explained that Mashazi’s instruction and modifications to the Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures were “illegal, inappropriate, and against the best interests of the City".

Nciza said that he submitted a detailed analysis of the implications of the changes in the current legislation to the City Manager.

“The municipality has various investigation units. We have the monitoring and evaluation investigating unit, Integrity and Standards unit of Internal Affairs, Loss Control, Internal Audit Department, and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), which also institutes investigations,” Nciza said.

He added that the MPAC is even more serious because it is chaired by a councillor, and councillors are part of the committee. That committee has a legal obligation and the powers to institute investigations. 

Nciza told the commission that the amendment by Mashazi states that one cannot carry out an investigation unless the HOD of Corporate Legal Services approves it.

“It is just impossible. Effectively, you are saying that councillors cannot investigate; they must get authorisation from their junior, because all of us are juniors to councillors as the political leadership of the municipality. But also, all these other units that have vested investigative authority, now that authority is taken away. Before they can conduct any investigation, they must get approval from the HOD CLS (Behari),” Nciza said.

He said that he raised some pertinent issues with the Mashazi, stating that the instruction would take away what constitutes the Labour Relations department’s 50% of the output. And that this would render the department useless. 

Nciza is expected to continue with his testimony on Friday.

Cape Times