DA Johannesburg caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, has announced plans pursue a Motion of No Confidence (MoNC) against Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero.
This follows revelations that over R1-billion in city tenders were awarded to companies linked to current and former councillors of the City of Johannesburg.
She said the scale of the alleged corruption showed that Morero is unfit to govern a complex city such as Johannesburg and believes should be removed from office.
National intervention
“The fact that the DA needs to get national intervention, and that it isn’t the Executive Mayor doing so, only makes us all the more resolute,” said Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
The idea of the motion comes amid the reports that tenders worth R1-billion had been directed to businesses with ties to municipal officials.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said this report reveals a city where pubic money is being treated like a personal piggy bank.
“At a time when Joburg’s streets are crumbling, power outages are the norm, and basic service delivery is in freefall, it is unacceptable that councillors may be benefitting from a broken procurement system.
“We cannot allow this culture of impunity to continue unchecked,” said Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
She said the DA will lodge a formal complaint with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for urgent intervention.
Complaint to the SIU
The formal complaint to the SIU will call for lifestyle audits of all councillors and officials involved, she added. It will also call for the suspension and investigation of any officials tied to unethical or irregular contracts. The laying of criminal charges where corruption is found, and full public disclosure of all tenders awarded over the past three years will also be probed.
She highlighted that the DA had previously written to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), and the Department of Public Service Administration, requesting lifestyle audits for all department heads.
However, these request were ignored. She said the Auditor General has now raised similar concerns. The DA is engaging with the AG and National Treasury to demand a full forensic audit of all tenders linked to officials, elected councillors, and their associates.
