City defends tainted Botes’ appointment to top post

The City of Joburg has defended the appointment of corruption-accused Helen Botes as acting chief operating officer (COO), stating all due processes were followed.

City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane emphasised that there was nothing improper about her appointment.

“She has been appointed and there is nothing improper about it. While the allegations against her are serious, we must allow the investigation at JPC to run its course.

Nothing improper about Botes’ appointment

“Once the report is finalised, we will determine whether she has a case to answer. However, at this stage, we cannot take action against her based on unproven allegations,” Modingoane said.

“The process is legislated. It does not require public advertisement as it is an executive decision based on competencies and the availability of the incumbent.

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“We followed all due processes, and we are satisfied that there is stability at the leadership level, ensuring that services continue to be delivered efficiently.”

This comes amid criticism over her appointment, with concerns about a lack of transparency.

The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has threatened protest action, saying due process was bypassed and called for nullification of her appointment.

Samwu threatened protest action

Botes, was CEO of the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) for 15 years and her contract expire in September. However, the JPC board extended it until the end of March.

At the first city council meeting yesterday, an agenda item was set to discuss her as acting COO.

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Samwu regional chair Esther Mtatyana raised concerns over the process, saying “her contract ended on 30 September. After that, she was unemployed. But the JPC board chair signed the acting contract for her. That acting contract was not signed by the city manager. It didn’t come to council for noting, meaning it was improper and illegal. But they continued and we raised that.”

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has allegedly linked Botes and other officials to financial misconduct, which resulted in an estimated R18 million in wasteful expenditure.

There are also concerns over the lack of implementation of the Khampepe report, which called for “appropriate action” against Botes. The report highlighted her direct responsibility for the state of a building that caught fire, killing 76 people.

Lack of implementation of the Khampepe report

Further questions have been raised regarding alleged money laundering through property transactions, R470 million in irregular Covid fogging contracts and a potentially irregular Civic Centre refurbishment project set to cost at least R2 billion.

The city has not responded to these concerns.

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Mtatyana also accused Botes of being protected by mayor Dada Morero. “Nobody wanted to listen to us because she’s protected by the mayor. We don’t accept it. She corrupted and collapsed the JPC and now she will oversee all entities and departments.

“The City of Joburg will collapse. We may not even get our salaries. Last month, we struggled to get paid because of the mayor’s actions.”

DA challenges appointment

This week, the DA announced its intention to challenge Botes’ appointment as acting COO.

The party plans to escalate the matter to national government and formally write to the mayor to demand that her contract extension be rescinded and a transparent process be followed.