Mashaba says ANC just wants to loot again by getting rid of him

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba faces a looming motion of no confidence against him on August 22.

ANC spokesperson Jolidee Matongo said the ANC met on Thursday to deliberate on the decision to table the motion. Mashaba described as deceitful Matongo’s statements in a News24 report about the ANC meeting to deliberate on the decision.

“One can only deduce that the motion has nothing to do with the content of their discussions, and is rather a political ploy designed to deflect attention away from the increasing number of cases of fraud and corruption involving the ANC that are being exposed by the multi-party government [of Johannesburg].

“The reality is that the multi-party government’s fight against corruption has achieved over 5,000 cases under investigation, totalling more than R33 billion. Five members of the ANC’s former Mayoral Committee have been implicated in wrongdoing, including the current and former regional chairperson.”

He claimed a certain ANC councillor even masterminded a R30 million windfall to Molelwane Consulting by acting as a broker for Regiments Fund Managers, which resulted in lucrative deals.

“This relationship continued after he was appointed MMC of finance under the previous mayor, Parks Tau’s administration.”

The ANC’s plan for a motion had nothing to do with the reasons they advanced, he alleged, “but everything to do with resuming the rampant looting that characterised the ANC’s tenure in Johannesburg”.

“Indeed, the ANC cannot fathom the prospect of contesting the upcoming election without access to city resources which have been looted by corrupt means. In an attempt to legitimise their spurious motion, Matongo said the ANC’s motion was motivated by considerations of “the City’s performance in light of the recent audit outcomes, including the recent credit downgrade and other service delivery matters.”

Mashaba said he failed to understand the ANC’s reasons for the motion but looked forward to meeting the party on the floor of council on August 22, where he hoped their hypocrisy would be exposed.

(Edited by Gopolang Moloko)

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