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Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga says the recent leaks of private documents that have exposed two irregular appointments by his office are a plot to tarnish his credibility.
It emerged on Thursday, after human resources documents were leaked to the media, that Msimanga’s office was embroiled in yet another irregular appointment scandal barely two months after it emerged that his chief of staff, Marietha Aucamp, may have falsified her qualifications.
This time, the mayor’s office is accused of appointing a 34-year-old former body-builder and body guard, Stefan de Villiers – who only holds a matric certificate – to the position of executive director.
In his current capacity, De Villiers earns a mouth-watering R1 million annual salary.
Msimanga has come out to defend the appointment stating that, “this is where I am seriously going to draw the line”.
He said that the leaking of confidential human recourses documents to the media was an attempt at destroying his credibility and that of his office.
“The matter of Marietha Aucamp was different. In that instance there were allegedly fraudulent documents submitted with her application.”
Msimanga went on to say that he noted with concern allegations that he had appointed a “political support stuff without the necessary qualifications”.
“I want to make it clear that Stefan de Villiers is a political appointment. All government leaders appoint and need support stuff who can be trusted to land our policies in government, communicate our messages, and handle sensitive information,” said Msimanga.
The Tshwane mayor was adamant that the only qualification required for De Villiers’s position was unwavering commitment to the DA.
“The inherent job requirements of political stuffers are wholly different from officials who work in municipal administration.”
The ANC in the Tshwane Region disputed Msimanga’s sentiments saying it had overwhelming evidence to prove that Msimanga and his member of the mayoral committee for corporate services, Cilliers Brink, were at the centre of employing “incompetent and unqualified white DA members”.
The party said the advertisement for De Villiers position stated that someone with “at least 12years experience” was being sought.
“Solly without even thinking went ahead and appointed a white male when Tshwane has a policy of employment equity which is also applicable all over the country,” said ANC’s Lesego Makhubele.
Msimanga argued that the ANC had also appointed members without qualifications to senior party positions and no one was pointing at them.
The mayor said he was concerned with this recent “selective leaking of confidential human resources documents” and saw it as a target against the DA’s administration.
“Stefan has been appointed to his position in my private office and plays a vital role in ensuring that I have time available in my schedule to communicate with all of Tshwane’s communities,” said the mayor.
He said the recent leaks come after he had initiated “an audit of all recruitment and employment conditions of all managers in Tshwane down to the level of deputy director”.
Msimanga said this audit was not limited to political offices.
Makhubele said the ANC had already done its “own skills audit” and that they had found that De Villiers has been an employee of the city for roughly more than two years now in the private office of the executive mayor.
The City of Tshwane said it could not deny or confirm the allegations at this stage because the audit of all its employees initiated by the mayor was still under way.
