The Congress of the People (Cope) on Saturday laid a charge of fraud against the former chief of staff in Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga’s office, The Citizen reports.
The party’s councillor in Tshwane, Selata wa’Nkwane, said in a statement to police that Marietha Aucamp allegedly lied about her qualifications.
Wa’Nkwane said the municipality advertised the post last year, stating that the applicant should be “in possession of a bachelor’s degree or similar qualifications”.
In their statement, Cope said that Aucamp had known she lacked the qualifications, but applied anyway and was eventually given the job after being shortlisted, following interviews.
“It would seem that [the] suspect enjoyed the support of the panellist as evidenced by the high scores that she was given during the interview. It is no surprise though, that [the] suspect won the hearts of those who were interviewing her. It is known fact that she has been in council for about 16 years of which some of the years she served as chief whip of her political party caucus. She had vast knowledge about the running of the political office,” he said.
They allege that she “intentionally and consciously misrepresented herself by claiming that she was in possession of B-Tech Degree, whereas she knew same to be false” to get the job with an annual salary of R1.2 million.
She resigned earlier this month in the wake of the “jobs for pals” scandal.
Msimanga had said: “We note that following the revelations that have come to the fore, the prima facie evidence before us and the controversy surrounding the matter, as the executive mayor, I had no option but to ask her to resign. From myself as the executive mayor we want to wish her well in all her future endeavours.”
In a statement from Aucamp, she said she was saddened to see Msimanga being “blamed and dragged” and would vacate her position to eliminate any doubt towards the mayor.
“It was sad for me to see the executive mayor, who has run a clean campaign, took transparent decisions and acted only in the interest of the city, being blamed and dragged into this debate whilst not having any part in any wrongdoing. I cannot continue in my job knowing that my appointment creates doubt on the executive mayor’s alleged involvement.
“I therefore tender my resignation to the city with effect from 31 May 2018.”
It had been revealed that Msimanga was part of an interview panel that appointed Aucamp in November 2016. But Aucamp, who only has a matric, did not meet the minimum requirements of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification.
She was scored the highest by Msimanga and MMC of corporate and shared services Cilliers Brink. Former acting city manager Lindiwe Kwele was also part of the panel.
“It was never a secret that I don’t have a tertiary qualification. Did it make me cautious on decisions? Yes. Did it make me feel inferior at times? Yes, it did. I checked and consulted all the time before making decisions. Every day I went to the office, I was always aware of my shortcoming,” she has said.
“I was, however, able to make up for shortcomings due to my knowledge of the executive mayor’s vision, which is to make this city a place where everyone deserved the same quality of services with the opportunity to work, earn a living and have a place to call home,” she said.
According to documents apparently handwritten by Aucamp, she indicated that she had a BTech degree.
But Aucamp denied this.
“A number of allegations and documents have been making the rounds. I would like to state that I did not submit the form indicating that I possess a BTech degree. The process of my appointment was through the stages of selecting a preferred candidate before I did the assessment for senior managers, which the assessment outcome wasn’t influenced by whether or not I had indicated in the form that I had a degree.”
The Tshwane ANC had already opened a case of fraud against Aucamp.
“We have always said to you, Solly is not the mayor of Tshwane, but Marietha was the actual mayor. Marietha has been the boss of Solly for over 10 years. She was the chief whip of the DA [Democratic Alliance] in council for over 10 years. Solly and other councillors were reporting to her,” said ANC Tshwane caucus spokesperson Lesego Makhubela.
“When this [DA-led] administration was put into power, Marietha was a councillor of the DA. She was then appointed as an MMC, and we made an outcry that the executive which had been appointed was lily-white. They then removed her and placed her directly in the office of the mayor. She was then given a position which she is not qualified for.”
Makhubela insisted that, in Tshwane House corridors, Aucamp was known to possess significant power.
“She was placed there to babysit the puppet. She is the one who ensures that the puppet is on the string, toes the party line, telling him where to go and how to do certain things. This is why the DA has gone to great lengths, breaking the law,” said Makhubela.
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