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Progress made in metro's efforts to clean house

Progress made in metro's efforts to clean house

The Citizen23-05-2025
The Tshwane metro has intensified its efforts to rebuild institutional integrity and restore financial discipline through strong consequence management and a transparent approach to resolving wage disputes.
Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya recently conveyed that the Labour Court ruled in favour of the metro's exemption from implementing a 5.4% increase. It sent the matter of a 3.5% increase for the 2021/22 financial year back to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) for reconsideration.
Moya provided a six-month progress report on the work of the multiparty coalition government at Tshwane House on May 22.
The metro held a meeting with Samwu and Imatu, the two recognised municipal unions, in response to the ruling.
Although the unions expressed disappointment over the ruling on the 5.4% increase and reserved the right to appeal, all parties agreed to pursue mediation through the CCMA under Section 150 of the Labour Relations Act.
'This mediation process offers the best chance to reach a fair and sustainable outcome for our employees while maintaining the metro's financial stability,' said Moya.
She commended both unions for engaging in open and transparent dialogue in the interest of Tshwane's workforce and uninterrupted service delivery.
Moya also highlighted the metro's accelerated progress in addressing unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure, an issue that has plagued the municipality's governance for years.
The metro has completed investigations into R11.7-billion UIFW expenditure, with another R1-billion expected to be finalised before the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
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She said this marks a dramatic increase from the R1.2-billion investigated in the previous financial year.
The metro has also recorded notable progress in disciplinary and legal actions:
– 349 officials have been flagged for disciplinary proceedings (up from 126 in February 2025)
– 44 cases have been referred for criminal prosecution.
– More than 900 cases are now before the Financial Disciplinary Board, an enormous jump from just 70 cases earlier this year.
– 85 officials have been dismissed, involving serious offences including sexual harassment, fraud, corruption, bribery, and dereliction of duty.
Moya said five officials have been served letters of intention to suspend over mismanagement of the Refilwe and Cullinan stadiums, and a former Section 79 Chairperson has been referred to the Speaker for violating procurement policies.
'The metro is also moving to blacklist eight non-performing contractors, although delivery of formal notices has been challenging due to vacated premises.'
Legal advice has prompted the metro to pursue blacklisting in absentia, which signalled a no-tolerance to underperformance and fraud.
Moya said R36-million has been allocated in the new budget to Group Audit and Risk for forensic investigations to reinforce the metro's anti-corruption drive.
'These actions show that we are not merely making promises, but acting decisively to clean up governance, build public trust, and restore pride in the administration of our Capital City,' she said.
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