ANC, DA wrangler over west councillor
A DA councillor meant to be serving residents of ward 03 in Pretoria West has allegedly not reported for work for almost a year.
A DA councillor meant to be serving residents of ward 03 in Pretoria West has allegedly not reported for work for almost a year.
ANC Tshwane chairperson Dr Kgosi Maepa claimed that the DA in Tshwane has been paying councillor Carlos de Bruin a salary of about R528 000 “per annum, without him attending a single council meeting in 2019 or doing work in ward 03, Pretoria West”.
Tshwane ANC secretary Eugene Bonzo Modise said: “De Bruin has simply gone AWOL and not even the DA can account for his whereabouts.”
Modise said the ANC had learnt that the councillor was now a permanent resident in Cape Town.
“So the seat was vacated when he moved out of ward 03 (jurisdiction of the City of Tshwane) in 2018.
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“The councillor has contravened the municipal systems act and the municipal structures act. This demonstrates the level of disdain the DA holds against the people of Tshwane.”
Modise claimed that the DA chief whip and speaker of council “had deliberately covered-up and hidden the disappearance of De Bruin to the residents of Pretoria West”.
Modise said the ANC would follow due process with the relevant authorities such as the independent electoral commission (IEC) to ensure that there was a by-election in ward 03.
But Tshwane chief whip of council Christo van der Heever said the DA-led city had not abandoned the residents of ward 3.
“Councillor De Bruin fell ill,” Van Der Heever said.
“We immediately appointed an acting ward councillor James Ndlovu who has been doing a great job in the ward.”
He said ANC allegations claiming that there was no ward councillor in ward 03 for nine months were “heavily disputed”.
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“We can, however, confirm that he has been absent from three consecutive council meetings and that his behaviour is in direct violation of the municipal systems act 32 of 2000 that gives a clear direction for councillors who miss three meetings.”
Van Der Heever said he would be writing a letter to the Gauteng MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Lebogang Maile in accordance with the act to remove councillor De Bruin from office.
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