The City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba has requested the city council’s ethics committee to investigate him.
This after allegations had been made that he used his wife’s company to assist with services regarding the insourcing of security guards for the City. He also requested that the findings be made public.
Mashaba has been accused of using his former company, Lephatsi Financial Services, which the mayor’s wife reportedly owns, to implement the insourcing of the security personnel.
He denied the allegations implicated in an article published by The Sowetan and said it had tarnished the City’s reputation.
It was alleged that a former business associate reportedly working for the company had given Mashaba advice on the insourcing of security personnel.
The mayor said this service was provided to the City free of charge, and apparently after having determined that this former associate had no financial interests in the City.
“Arising from this critical work, we have been able to initiate the process to begin insourcing to the benefit and dignity of our security guards,” said Mashaba.
“The fact that I am able to bring expertise from the private sector to assist the City without financial benefit to anyone other than our residents, is something of which I am not ashamed.”
Mashaba gave the publication 48 hours to withdraw the article, threatening to approach the Press Ombudsman.
As of 20 February, the article could no longer be found on The Sowetan’s website.
The mayor added that while he believed he had responded to the matter sufficiently, he had committed to holding himself accountable to the highest ethical standards.
“It is time that citizens believe in their political leadership, and this can only happen when we set the bar higher,” he said.
“I have declared my financial interests and those of my family. In the process of trying to bring dignity to our security personnel, through insourcing, I reached out to a security sector expert with the skills we needed to advise us.
I did so with the full knowledge of the Mayoral Committee and coalition partners.”
The mayor maintained that there was no conflict of interest and no advantage or benefit was derived.
“It was a dedicated South African willing to give of their time, free of charge, to the benefit of our City.”
Mashaba claimed that the move to insource security guards caused unhappiness ‘in the circles of the politically connected few who have made a fortune’ from the more than 90 security contracts valued at R640 million that the City has held.
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