Msimanga faces mounting pressure demanding body builders’ exit

Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga may need some serious mental muscle to push back and reassure the mounting backlash from opposition parties calling for the dismissal of body builder turned executive director Stefan de Villiers.

Pressure mounts as Msimanga digs in deeper in his defense for De Villiers following another jobs for pals scandal which surfaced this week.

The 34-year-old bodybuilder earning around a million rand annually has been confirmed to only coordinate the mayors diary, according to Msimanga.

This prompted a reaction from Economic Freedom Fighters Gauteng acting chairperson Mandisa Mashego who accused Msimanga of abusing his position as mayor.  City Press reported the chairperson accusing Tshwane mayor of treating the city like his little business, used to please white people.

Mashego claims Msimanga is obsessed with empowering white people of the Democratic Alliance, with no regard for black graduates who were unemployed.

She said Msimanga was missing the point in terms of addressing the needs of the people of Tshwane.

Msimanga justified siding with De Villiers by saying all government leaders appointed and needed supporting staff  who could be trusted to land DA policies in government, including communicating their message and handling sensitive information.

He again said De Villiers was by far the most qualified candidate for the position as he trusted him to head up his diary in ensuring communities had equal and adequate access to him.

De Villiers is raking in the dough as the executive head in the Tshwane mayor’s office, despite allegedly only having a matric certificate and a personal training certification.

The scandal surrounding De Villiers follows the exit of Marietha Aucamp, who resigned after her qualifications were questioned.

According to the job advertisement De Villiers applied for, the first two requirements were a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification and 12 years’ experience, of which five must be in a senior level.

In his application for the post, which is in The Citizen’s possession, De Villiers says he has a matric from Hoërskool Die Wilgers and a certificate in personal fitness training from Exercise Teachers Academy in 2004.

He falls short of the required 12 years’ experience by three years, having nine years’ experience, working only for the Democratic Alliance. He was the campaign coordinator during the 2016 local government elections, ensuring the smooth running of the race that led to Msimanga and the DA’s victory.

The mayor has told The Citizen he commissioned city manager Moeketsi Mosola to continue probing irregular appointments of all City of Tshwane staff.