The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane is concerned about the circumstances leading to the resignation of a senior official in the City of Tshwane.
The risk we see is that the ANC-led coalition, with the help of ActionSA and the EFF, is resuming its cadre deployment programme.
The devastating effects of this programme, a form of state capture, is still being felt by Tshwane years after the electoral defeat of the ANC.
It usually starts with the clearing out of municipal officials who are not politically aligned to make way for agents and operatives of the governing party. Yesterday, Tshwane councillors learnt that the city’s Governance and Support Officer (GSO) Ashraf Adam has resigned from his position.
Two reports were loaded onto Tshwane’s SharePoint system for resolution at today’s council meeting, one recommending the appointment of an acting GSO and the other advertising the post.
Included in the reports are allegations against Adam for failing to disclose the facts behind a mutual separation agreement with one of his former employers in 2011. The problem with the allegations is that the municipal council will never be able to test their veracity, and to determine whether in fact Adam’s conduct justifies disciplinary action.
We will also not know whether pressure was placed on Adam to resign for ulterior motives, a possibility that arises from political attacks launched against him by the EFF.
Adam is an outsider in Tshwane, appointed under city manager Johann Mettler to clean up the systemic failure and corruption in the Tshwane city administration.
He has been in the cross hairs of the EFF since last year, when the party of VBS looters demanded that Adam be fired based on allegations of bullying. These allegations were never substantiated, and no report on Adam’s alleged misconduct was ever brought to Tshwane’s council for investigation.
When the EFF targets officials for attack, chances are that those officials have set off a trip wire protecting EFF interests.
The same EFF has launched a series of attacks on Mettler, more recently accusing him, again without any proof, of leaking confidential information to me.
The DA anticipates that the ANC-led coalition, including their EFF and ActionSA allies, will take aim at more officials who haven’t passed through ANC cadre deployment committees.