ANC’s Motion of no confidence a smokescreen for looting

2 August 2019

It is now confirmed that the ANC in the City of Johannesburg will table a motion of no confidence against me as the Mayor of the City at the Council sitting scheduled for 22 August.

This is according to Johannesburg ANC spokesperson, Jolidee Matongo, who indicated, via a media advisory, the ANC’s intention to “table the decisions of the Regional Executive Committee to instruct its deployees in the Joburg Council to submit motions of no confidence on Mayor Mashaba and other Council office bearers” at a briefing later today.

According to comments provided to News24, Matongo would have residents believe that the ANC met yesterday to “deliberate” on the decision to table such a motion. I find this assertion deceitful.

As early last week, the ANC made its intention clear through a march to the City, orchestrated by the ANC- aligned wing of SANCO, and attended by ANC Councillors in Johannesburg.

If there were any deliberations, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

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 exposes by the multi-party government.

The reality is that the multi-party government’s fight against corruption has achieved over 5000 cases under investigation, totalling more than R33 billion. 5 members of the ANC’s former Mayoral Committee have been implicated in wrong doing, including the current and former Regional Chairperson.

Indeed, Cllr Makhubo, current ANC Johannesburg Region Chairperson, is alleged to have masterminded a R30 million windfall to his company, Molelwane Consulting, by unduly acting as a broker for Regiments Fund Managers, giving the fund managers unfettered access to lucrative deals within the City. This relationship continued after he was appointed MMC of Finance under the previous Mayor, Parks Tau’s administration.

Indeed, it is also alleged that through this relationship, Makhubo’s and Tau’s wife received a lucrative set of shares then worth R3-million; the shares are now said to be worth approximately R50-million.

A criminal investigation into this matter is still on-going.

This motion of no confidence has nothing to do with the reasons they advance, 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 matter (sic).”

While I look forward to reviewing these allegations in full, a number of points should be emphasised:

- The City received an unqualified audit for the 2017/18 financial year with the Auditor-General (A-G) noting an overall stagnation in the audit outcome.

- In terms of the City’s financial health, the A-G noted “an improvement from the prior year” with the “annual financial statements indicating a solvent position, highlighted by a net current asset position.” The A-G further noted “an improvement on working capital position, as well as cash flow from operating activities which are both positive at year-end compared to prior year.”

- The A-G also noted “an improvement in spending of the capex budget” with the City closing the 2017/18 financial year having achieved 93% capital expenditure and 99% expenditure of the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG).

- The City did not, as is asserted, receive a “credit downgrade.” GCR Ratings in fact maintained the City’s investment grade rating while amending the outlook to negative based on the 2017/18 financial position.

- Over the past year the multi-party government has worked to improve the City’s liquidity. Preliminary figures provided to me shows that the City closed the 2018/19 financial year with a cash balance of approximately R4.4 billion, almost double the closing balance of the 2017/18 financial year.

- Furthermore, during the 2018/19 financial year the City also utilised less short-term funding than in the previous financial year, drawing down only R1.5 billion against the approved DBSA facility of R3 billion. The full amount was repaid prior to year-end.

- The improved revenue collection together with a decreased reliance on external funding reflects the prudent financial management implemented by the multi-party government, which has served to improve financial stability and sustainability without compromising on key service delivery projects.

With regard to service delivery, I find it incomprehensible that the ANC would seek to make this the basis of any motion against the multi-party government.

It is the ANC that failed the residents of the City for over two decades, depriving the forgotten people of the City of basic dignity.

Through the efforts of the multi-party government, infrastructure backlogs are being reversed, clinic hours are being extended, the very first drug rehabilitation centres are being opened, JMPD has become more effective than ever before in tackling crime and an Inner City project, with R20 billion worth of investment committed to date, is emerging that will forever change Johannesburg.

I look forward to meeting the ANC on the floor of Council on 22 August where the hypocrisy of their baseless allegations will be exposed, and the nefarious motives of their motion made clear.              

Issued by Luyanda Mfeka, Director: Mayoral Communications, Office of the Executive Mayor, 2 August 2019