Tshwane has rejected claims that it lacks adequate internal forensic investigation capacity, following allegations that the metro could spend as much as R450-million on forensic investigations handled by outsourced external legal experts.

The response comes after the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) called for the urgent establishment of a dedicated in-house forensic unit to deal with corruption, fraud, and maladministration cases.

The metro is currently grappling with a substantial backlog of forensic investigations, while concerns continue to mount over the financial implications of outsourcing probes to private service providers.

FF+ councillor Peter Meijer said that Tshwane should move away from relying heavily on external legal panels and instead invest in strengthening internal investigative capacity.

According to Meijer, the metro currently spends an average of R300 000 per investigation on private attorneys appointed through external panels.

“With approximately 1 500 forensic investigations still outstanding, this could easily cost the metro a further R450-million,” he said.

Meijer further alleged that several reports submitted to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) by external investigators were of poor quality and often appeared repetitive.

He argued that excessive outsourcing weakens the metro’s ability to hold officials accountable while also delivering poor value for money to taxpayers.

“Although existing legislation allows for internal investigations except in complex or sensitive cases almost all cases are still being outsourced,” he said.

Meijer said the FF+ has proposed that the metro establish a dedicated internal forensic investigation unit within the Group Audit and Risk Division.

He added that the party also suggested that an independent selection panel be used to vet candidates before appointments are made.

According to Meijer, such a unit would help reduce costs, improve turnaround times and build institutional expertise within the metro administration.

“Outsourcing should be reserved for exceptional cases only,” he said.

He added that they would continue advocating for stronger governance, fiscal discipline, and transparent accountability within the municipality.

However, City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo disputed claims that the metro does not already have an established internal forensic structure.

Mashigo said the municipality already operates a fully-fledged Forensic Unit known as Ethics Management and Forensic Services, which falls under the executive leadership of the Chief Audit Executive (CAE).

According to Mashigo, the division operates within council-approved policies and frameworks and serves as the investigative authority for several municipal structures, including the Speaker, Council, Executive Mayor, Audit and Risk Committee, Financial Disciplinary Board and municipal entities.

He explained that the city follows a co-sourced model in which internal investigators are supplemented by external service providers from both legal and forensic panels when necessary.

“The division is also vested with the authority to oversee the independently manage Fraud Hotline in which officials and members of the public can anonymously report known or suspected incidents of fraud and corruption,” Mashigo said.

He said as of June 30, 2024, Tshwane had 1 001 outstanding forensic investigations.

Mashigo said that by June 30, 2025, the metro had completed 146 forensic investigations while receiving 91 new cases during the same period.

He added that the city also finalised investigations into unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFW) amounting to more than R14.4-billion, with 65 matters referred to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation.

“In the current 2025/26 financial year, up to March 31, the city had completed 346 forensic investigations and UIFW investigations valued at more than R9.3-billion,” said Mashigo.

He added that further 13 cases were referred to law enforcement authorities, while investigations resulted in about R528-million being earmarked for financial recovery.

Mashigo said the metro has already started strengthening internal capacity through the appointment of five forensic attorneys with investigation, litigation, and legal expertise.

He confirmed that recruitment processes are underway for an additional five forensic attorneys, 10 forensic officers and 10 forensic consultants.

“Of the total number of 492 investigations completed, only 71 were conducted by external service providers,” Mashigo said.

“It can be seen from these numbers that the majority of the completed investigations were conducted internally,” he emphasised.

Mashigo also defended the independence of its forensic structures, revealing that the Chief Audit Executive reports administratively to the city manager but functionally to council through the Audit and Risk Committee.

“This ensures that the city manager and/or the executive mayor cannot unduly influence the technical work of the CAE,” Mashigo said.

Responding to criticism over the quality of investigation reports, Mashigo maintained that the city remained satisfied with the standard of work produced.

“The city also understands that the quality of investigations is often a subjective assessment in which those in favour of the recommendations would say there is quality, and those who do not like the recommendations would say the quality is unsatisfactory.
“The city is satisfied with the quality of the investigations that are conducted, and adds that instances of spelling errors here and there do not go into the heart of the investigations that support consequence management,” he said.

He added that the real measure of quality lies in whether investigations are able to support consequence management and withstand scrutiny during disciplinary and legal processes.

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