Tshwane labour relations head ‘fed Joburg law firm R44m in city legal work’

As the public protector wraps up its conflict of interest investigation into City of Tshwane labour relations management divisional head Ronald Oppelt, fresh claims have emerged that he channels work to his previous employer — which raked in more than R44m from the city in just three years.

Oppelt, 62, regularly appoints Johannesburg-based law firm Lawtons Africa to do work for Tshwane. According to his CV, he worked for the firm before joining the metro six years ago.

In his CV, Oppelt listed the former chair of Lawtons Africa (the company was then known as Hogan Lovells) as his first reference. The document also shows he chaired disciplinary hearings on behalf of the law firm before joining Tshwane.

Oppelt denies any wrongdoing, saying he did “not form part of [Tshwane’s] recruitment process”, and that he had been unaware the firm had applied to be on the city’s legal panel. However, the city confirmed to the Sunday Times that Oppelt had been involved in approving appointments.

When he was asked about his relationship with the law firm and being involved in ensuring work was given to it, Oppelt said he had nothing to gain from any work passed on to the firm.

“I do not understand what the conflict is. This is purely professional, and I have nothing to gain out of briefs issued to Lawtons Africa,” he said.

Oppelt said he was “never employed” by the law firm “in any capacity”.

When it was pointed out to him that his CV from 2018, which the Sunday Times has seen, states he was at the time chairing disciplinary hearings on the company’s behalf, Oppelt asked where the Sunday Times had obtained his CV from.

“I was a labour consultant and was requested by many companies to chair hearings ... Who gave you my CV? That is personal information,” he said.

Oppelt said the former chair was “a retired, highly respected, renowned and ethical legal practitioner and only performed consulting work for the firm now”.

“Anyone in the legal fraternity will confirm that this person is above reproach and incorruptible,” Oppelt said.

I do not understand what the conflict is. This is purely professional, and I have nothing to gain out of briefs issued to Lawtons Africa.

Robin Beswick, Lawtons Africa’s marketing and business development manager, told the Sunday Times the firm’s appointment to the Tshwane legal panel “occurred in 2021, after an open, competitive tender process”.

He declined to confirm how much they had been paid, saying the information was protected by legal professional privilege. 

He also said it was “simply untrue and incorrect” that Oppelt had worked for the law firm.

When he was told what Oppelt had stated in his CV about the law firm, Beswick said: “We have since established and can confirm that he [Oppelt] did chair a disciplinary hearing on behalf of a client of the firm, and at the time of the hearing he was employed by the CCMA as a commissioner.”

He said the firm’s client was responsible for paying for Oppelt’s services.

“We deem it important to also mention that Lawtons Africa has been separated from Hogan Lovells for [more than] five years — since October 2019, way before Lawtons Africa’s appointment to the City of Tshwane’s legal panel,” Beswick said.

The Sunday Times had to escalate the matter to the municipal manager’s office to establish that Lawtons Africa was paid in excess of R44m between 2021 and 2024.

Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo initially refused to divulge how much the city had spent on work granted to the law firm associated with Oppelt, saying, “This is confidential information.”

According to insiders at the metro, the appointment of law firms not based in Tshwane led to the city being billed for the travel expenses of its officials incurred when they attend consultations and go to the South African local government bargaining council in Centurion.

The Sunday Times has learnt from insiders that Tshwane’s human capital management department is asking for more money in the adjusted budget after depleting its annual budget in just six months, mainly as a result of outsourcing legal services.

The request for additional funds was expected to be tabled during the next council meeting at the end of February. Oppelt denied this.

When asked who was responsible for outsourcing work to law firms, Mashigo confirmed that Oppelt or his manager, Gerald Shingange, approved appointments.

Oppelt is also central to an investigation before the public protector arising out of his chairing an interview after which an associate and former colleague of his was appointed as director for discipline management.

The complaint was laid with the public protector’s office two years ago.

Though Oppelt declared his relationship with the man eventually hired for the job, he still chaired the interview and gave him the highest scores for it, according to documents the Sunday Times has seen.

Khulu Phasiwe, spokesperson for the public protector, said the investigation was about to be wrapped up.

“The investigations are at an advanced stage, and the matter is expected to be finalised in due course,” he said.

When Phasiwe was asked why it had taken so long to wrap up the probe, he said: “There were no delays as such. Usually, complex matters such as this take a little longer to investigate and finalise.”

Five candidates shortlisted for the position, newly created at the time, were interviewed in July 2021, and Oppelt’s associate was appointed to the position, which pays between R1.1m and R1.4m per annum.

“It is true I knew him professionally, which I disclosed to the panel,” Oppelt said.

He said he did not want to comment on the merits of the alleged conflict case and would rather await the outcome of the public protector’s process. However, he insisted he had not done nothing wrong, as his previous engagements with the associate were “purely professional”.