tshwanecouncil
The City of Tshwane council is due to meet tomorrow to elect a new mayor after the dramatic resignation of Murunwa Makwarela — who fell on his sword amid revelations that he may have committed fraud in submitting a fraudulent insolvency rehabilitation certificate.
Makwarela’s political career came to an end after a rapid rise to power with the help of the ANC/EFF coalition alliance. Before his election as mayor, Makwarela was speaker of the Tshwane council in a DA coalition.
On Friday he resigned as mayor and as a member of the Congress of the People.
Makwarela was elected mayor last week Tuesday, defeating the DA’s Cilliers Brink.
Media reports last weekend revealed that Makwarela had been declared insolvent and therefore did not qualify for public office. This led to city manager Johann Mettler writing to Makwarela, asking him to provide a rehabilitation certificate, failing which the city would declare a vacancy.
After Makwarela’s failure to meet Mettler’s deadline, the city manager on Tuesday wrote to the IEC, notifying them of the vacancy in the mayor’s office. But on Thursday Makwarela miraculously produced a court order declaring that he had been rehabilitated.
However, the office of the chief justice on Friday revealed that Makwarela’s court order was fake.
Makwarela's former coalition partners opened a criminal case relating to allegations that he knowingly supplied falsified and fraudulent documentation to the city.
The DA, FF Plus, ActionSA, IFP and ACDP have slammed the “shameless and dangerous” politicking, saying Makwarela's integrity and questionable legitimacy as a city councillor had been at the centre of these events.
“Just because he's no longer mayor does not mean he's no longer a fraud. If there is a case of fraud against him, the police need to investigate. I am glad he did what is best for the city — stepping aside — so we can elect a new mayor and move forward in delivering services,” said DA councillor Jacqui Uys.
The parties that elected Makwarela to power last week, the EFF and the ANC, have since distanced themselves from his actions.
ANC regional secretary George Matjila said their relationship with Makwarela was brief and they had no prior knowledge of his wrongdoing.
“We have been working with this man for a week. He has been in cahoots with the DA for over a year before that. We would obviously not know his shenanigans, we would not know if he was insolvent, we would not know if he forged a rehabilitation certificate.
“Makwarela calls himself an apostle and is a PhD graduate. We trusted him as the ANC because he had been in the system for over a year and we never had a reason to doubt him,” he said.
EFF Tshwane chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu dismissed claims that Makwarela possibly conspired with the red berets to produce the fraudulent document. Ramabodu said the DA was responsible for the saga, alleging the party had files on everyone.
We have been working with this man for a week. He has been in cahoots with the DA for over a year before that
— ANC regional secretary George Matjila
“They operate like the apartheid regime. Every time someone differs with them they just go to the shelf and retrieve a file, air your dirty laundry and finish you.”
Governance expert Prof Susan Booysen from Wits University said the idea to reverse all council decisions that Makwarela presided over was regressive and all parties involved ought to take responsibility.
“He might have come on board with a level of dishonesty about his own position. As a public representative dealing with public funds, it is incredibly important that he is liable for his actions, but so are the parties, institutions and individuals about him,” said Booysen.
She said it was an easy shot to call on Makwarela to return the money but the council should ensure a debacle like this never happens again.
“Rather than continuing the blame game, they should look forward and immediately do their background checks on everyone. Declarations should never have been accepted at face value,” said Booysen.
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