A senior official in the City of Joburg has accused the DA-led administration in the Municipal Council of concealing fraud and corruption related to the employment of key officials in the Municipality.
Mesuli Mlandu, who has just resigned as an Executive Director in the office of the City Manager, said he was forced to resign from his office following threats to his life which related to reports he had conducted. They related to corruption and fraud related to the employment of the former head of the City’s Anti-Corruption head, Shadrack Sibiya.
Sibiya resigned from his position following reports that his appointment as the head of Group Forensic Investigation Services(GFIS) was irregular. He faced other allegations connected to spying on members of opposition parties in the Municipal Council.
Mlandu, who had an illustrious career as a public servant, was also involved in investigations into the contracts of 130 workers who were dismissed from the municipality after it was discovered that their contracts were illegally converted from fixed-term to permanent.
The Star understands that various reports indicating fraud and corruption and concerning Sibiya’s employment had been hidden from the Municipal Council.
In his resignation letter Mlandu said: “My decision to resign follows a concealment from the Municipal Council meeting of 10 August 2022 of a report that I submitted to the Speaker of Council which contained evidence regarding fraud, corruption and maladministration in the employment of Mr. S Sibiya.”
Mlandu said the concealment of the Sibiya report has challenged the ethics and morality of his contribution to the termination of the 130 workers who were fired in April.
“This challenge arises from the fact that their employment was terminated because it was irregular and yet when evidence confirms that Mr. Sibiya’s employment was fraudulent a report with such evidence is concealed from the Municipal Council.”
Mlandu said the concealment of a report into Sibiya’s employment has not only prevented the Municipal Council from being able to play an oversight role but it had led to threats from some officials in the City who were loyal to Sibiya and in some cases senior DA officials.
“The Municipal Council was prevented from complying with s32 (2) of MEMA which compels it to recover the R3.5 million which would have been unlawfully earned by Mr. Sibiya and regularised the R580 million of irregular expenditure as such consequence of such employment,” Mlandu said.
Mlandu said in the letter that the Municipal Council had been prevented from offering him the required support and protection from harassment and deadly threats.
“Thus making it impossible for me to continue in the employment relationship which compromised my personal safety and security,” he said.
The office of the Speaker of Council Vasco Da Gama confirmed that it had received Mlandu’s resignation from his post.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office Mabine Seabe said there was no truth to the allegations that have been made by Mlandu. He said the mayor and the multi-party collusion have been cleared of any wrongdoing related to GFIS.
