Die Afrikakultuur om te vat wat nie aan jou behoort nie, veral wanneer jy in ’n posisie van beheer, outoriteit of verantwoordelikheid geplaas is, is aansteeklik.
Die bedrae wat betrokke is, raak ook al groter namate dit bekend raak waarmee sommige amptenare, president, ministers en geregsdiennaars al mee weggekom het.
Die uiterstes waartoe gegaan moet word om korrupte optrede te laat ophou, is binne die DA net soos binne die ANC regime, nie bloot die bekendmaking daarvan met die bedoeling om die betrokkenes te laat ophou nie, nee dit loop die volle pad van verdere toesmeer, herontplooiing, dreigemente, kommisies van ondersoek en uiteindelik hofsake om te onderskei tussen leuen en waarheid. Die skade wat daarmee gepaard gaan word selde of ooit herstel.
Die AVP plaas ‘n uittreksel uit die volle getuienis wat op ons lessenaar beland het van ’n getuie, wat sy uiterste bes gedoen het om sy hoofde te laat optree teen hierdie korruptiewe optrede. ’n Konstante ontbloting, sodat die volle omvang van verval onder de Klerk se skepping van toegewings aan die vyande van geregtigheid, nie verbyglip nie!
Die bedoeling is steeds die bewys van die politieke misvatting om die suksesvolle beleid van afsonderlike ontwikkeling te vervang met rasseintegrasie, soos wat dit by herhaling voorspel is!
Cape Town: Craig Kesson's whistleblower affidavit
Craig Kesson |
21 November 2017
City's head of probity accuses Mayor Patricia de Lille of conduct not
compatible with her legal and ethical obligations
AFFIDAVIT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE PROTECTED DISCLOSURES ACT No 26 OF
2000 ("PDA")
I, the undersigned,
CRAIG JOHN KESSON
do hereby make oath and say:
1. The facts herein deposed to are within my personal knowledge unless the
context indicates otherwise, and are to the best of my knowledge and belief,
true and correct.
2. Any matters of a legal nature raised are on the advice of my attorney and
Senior Counsel from whom I have sought legal advice prior to attesting to
this affidavit.
3. I depose to this affidavit to my employer under the provisions and
protections afforded by the PDA and the City's Whistleblowing Policy and
seek the protections afforded by their provisions to employees such as me.
Introduction
4. l wish to state at the outset that I have no personal animosity against
any of the persons I name in this affidavit I depose to this affidavit in
good faith; In accordance with my duties under my contact of employment and
my responsibilities as a senior official in the employ of the City of Cape
Town; and with a view to drawing the facts set out below to the attention of
my employer.
5. In good faith, I make this affidavit to the Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian
Neilson, as my senior officer in terms of my employment. I do this as the
contents of this affidavit concerns both the City Manager and the Mayor, who
would ordinarily be regarded as my respective senior officers, representing
the employer. Furthermore, the Deputy Mayor has direct oversight over
probity matters, which pertain to the substance of what I describe below.
6. I have however. out of deference and transparency, provided a copy to the
Executive Mayor, (the Mayor) to whom I have a reporting line, who is the
subject of this affidavit, so that she will not be taken by surprise or feel
ambushed unfairly.
7. I do not believe that it is appropriate to submit this to the City
Manager (CM), my other reporting line, given the sensitivities and the
seniority and status of the Mayor, and that I have submitted a formal report
about his conduct for transmission to Council (see below) a number of
aspects of which overlap with what I set out below. In my respectful view,
this is a matter for the Municipal Council, my employer to consider as the
addressees deem appropriate.
19. As a matter of record, I have lodged with the Mayor, on 1 November 2017,
a report for tabling at Council in terms of the Disciplinary Regulations for
Senior Managers and the Financial Misconduct Regulationspromulgated under
the MFMA, a similar report recording a number of serious allegations against
the CM, and with the CM, as required, a similar report containing
allegations against the ED: Transport and Urban Development Authority, Ms.
Melissa Whitehead. A number of the allegations and issues I table below,
overlap with the content of these two reports and I accordingly suggest and
recommend that this affidavit and those two reports be read together.
2017. I notified the Mayor in a confidential memorandum dated 6 July 2017
that the presentation disclosed a multi-million rand loss to the City via
the fare system of the MyCiti Bus Service. (This loss has subsequently
tentatively been estimated as R43 million by Price Water House Coopers,
though they are experiencing difficulties quantifying the loss.) I advised
her that there was a possibility that this loss had been known to City
officials for some time without putting in place suitable control mechanisms
to stop the loss or attendto the conditions causing the loss. I notified her
that the report suggested potential financial misconduct, but I also stated
that no actions were required of her at that point.
23. The matter was subsequen1Iy considered by the City's Disciplinary Board,
established under the Financial Misconduct regulations, who sought legal
advice from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH). In a preliminary opinion issued on
29 August 2017 they recommended that the Commissione'rs and the City
Manager's conduct in relation t-o this issue be investigated.
24. When I tried to present the attorneys ' opinionto the Mayor in a meeting
bei'Neen the two of us on 31 August 2017, after I became aware of the
report, the Mayor did not wish to receive it and said that we needed to make
the issue "go away" and that the matter should not reach the Council. This
naturally surprised and concerned me.
25. The Mayor displayed a similar stance at a subsequent meeting held on 5
September 2017 in respect of allegations which had been made concerning the
bid evaluation process for the Foreshore Freeway tender. As will be
explained below, a report from Moore Stephens , independent consultants who
advise the City on tender matters, not only criticised the participation and
conduct of the Commissioner on the relevant bid evaluation committee, but
also alleged that she had stated in a meeting of that committee that a
particular bid should be rejected because "Brett (Herron, Mayco Member for
.the TOA), the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor have said they will never accept
the [redacted] proposal"; (I om it the names of te_nderers involved) and
that the Commissioner had stated that she "reports to the politicians who
are the ultimate decision-makers".
26. I expressed the view in a meeting of 5 September 2017 that this
allegation (amongst others) needed to be investigated and then reported to
the Counc il. The Mayor stated that the allegations would neither be
investigated nor reported to the Council. She said we should all be "team
players" and not make accusations; there was, she said, no need for
investigations or reports on this matter. Again I was concerned about her
stance. There is a sanitized note of this meeting (see below) which does not
record some of the key aspects of the meeting. I have a contemporaneous
record of it in the evidence pack. I also have my personal notesfrom that
meeting in the evidence pack.
31. In this matter, the Mayor did not table the matters raised against the
Commissioner or request an investigation into her at Council.
32. I discovered that in this matter, two junior staff members in the
Finance Department were dismissed. However, the senior manager (the
Commissioner) cited was not only not investigated but was reappointed to her
position and another manager, who was implicated in the report (see below)
was given a post- retirement contract.
33. My primary focus in this affidavit pertains to the Mayor, but I also
have concerns regarding the conduct and attitude of the City Manager and
others. As mentioned above and below, on 1 November 2017, I furnished to the
Mayor and to the City Manager, respectively, reports containing allegations
against the City Manager (and the Commissioner).As I will explain below.
once I started to express concerns regarding the MyCiti issue, the City
Manager took steps to try to remove my Forensics delegations (though this
did not ultimately eventuate).
34. Thereafter, when I started to express my views regarding the Foreshore
Freeway tender issues, I was threatened by Cllr Herron at the meeting on 5
September 2017, referred to below, that Probity should be removed from my
responsibility. Again, this has not yet actually come about.
35. Subsequent to this, on 12 September 2017. the City Manager, acting with
the approval of the Mayor, immediately after an ad hoc and impromptumeeting
with the her held at 1:30pm, attempted to remove all probity functions from
me, with immediate effect, at a meeting with him, to which he summonsed me
at 2:00pm, though this too has not yet come about. As will be seen below,
this took place, immediately following, a meeting with the Mayor.