A recent court ruling removed VIP protection from certain Johannesburg mayoral committee members.
The DA in Johannesburg has given mayor Dada Morero 48 hours to fire one of his mayoral committee members for abusing the municipality’s resources.
This comes after the MMC, known to The Citizen, took a luxury car belonging to the city and a number of JMPD officials to a political party event in KwaZulu-Natal.
Alleged abuse of the bank card
The DA also alleges that during this trip, the city’s bank card was used to refuel the car twice.
The Citizen has seen a letter that the party sent to Morero, giving him until the end of the week to dismiss the MMC in question.
This development follows a court ruling against Johannesburg MMCs who were receiving VIP protection and luxury cars without a threat risk assessment.
“Your failure to act within 48 hours leaves us no choice but to use all legal means, including law enforcement, to assist you in complying with the rule of law, because, as you are aware, contravention of a court order is a criminal matter.”
The DA also wants Morero to reveal the contents of an investigation into the matter, which The Citizen first reported on in June.
According to the letter, the investigation has been carried out by the Group Forensic Investigation Services (GFIS).
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Why should Morero act against the MMC?
Speaking to The Citizen on Friday, DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku described the MMC’s actions as “criminal”.
“We condemn this criminal contempt of the High Court order in the strongest terms,” she said.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said Morero is compelled by his oath of office to act against the MMC.
“The myor is to blame because he is the head of the mayoral committee and all MMCs serve at his pleasure as per section 60 of the Municipal Structures Act,” she said.
The Citizen has approached Johannesburg and the MMC in question for comment. They had not responded by the time of publicatiion and their responses will be included once received.
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