City of Joburg mum over DA charges against Makhubo

The city of Johannesburg (CoJ) could neither confirm nor deny on whether mayor Geoff Makhubo will respond to the charges laid by the DA against him.

“As has been practice, the mayor has cooperated with the commission fully and has previously avoided the urge to engage on matters before the commission, outside the commission,” mayoral spokesperson Mlimandlela Ndamase told The Citizen on Wednesday morning.

The DA announced earlier on Tuesday it would lay charges against Makhubo and IT service management company EOH.

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This follows allegations of impropriety between the CoJ, EOH and the ANC in Johannesburg during Makhubo’s testimony at the Commission of Inquiry of Allegations of State Capture on Monday.

Makhubo gave evidence relating to his tenure as the MMC for finance and ANC Johannesburg treasurer, which allegedly solicited regular donations worth millions from EOH, among other companies, in exchange for contracts at the CoJ.

Joburg ANC lauds Makhubo

While the DA said Makhubo was “guilty of bribery and corruption”, the ANC Johannesburg region has come out in support of its chairperson.

The region congratulated Makhubo for “cooperating with the commission and his willingness to subject himself to all processes”.

It also welcomed Makhubo’s intention to appear before the party’s Gauteng provincial integrity committee.

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“The RWC [regional working committee] further reaffirmed its regional executive committee [REC] decision that matters related to the regional chairperson [Makhubo] on the Zondo commission should be handled by the provincial executive committee [PEC] and therefore mandated the regional secretary [Dada Morero] to urgently write a letter to the PEC requesting that the PEC attend to this matter as a matter of urgency,” the ANC Johannesburg region said.

The region also said it instructed its secretary “to conduct an inquiry with regard to all the finances purported to have been fundraised on behalf of the ANC as presented in the commission”.

Additional reporting by Neo Thale