Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler has been given seven days to provide reasons why he should not be placed on precautionary suspension.

This follows allegations against him of financial misconduct, maladministration, and gross dereliction of duty.

The EFF submitted a report before Council on Thursday recommending that the allegations against Mettler be formally investigated before a decision is taken on his suspension.

EEF caucus leader Obakeng Ramabodu submitted a 45-page submission which consolidates findings from the Public Protector (PP), Auditor-General, court judgments, and other investigations.

Ramabodu said the case against Mettler is not a political attack, but rather a matter of documented governance failure.

He argued that the allegations are based on findings from several oversight bodies and years of documented evidence.

“We are placing before Council a consolidated set of serious allegations of misconduct, financial misconduct, maladministration and gross dereliction of duty against the city manager.”

He said the evidence points to a sustained failure of governance.

“The accumulated weight of evidence is extraordinary. Across the documented period 2022 to 2026, there has been a sustained pattern of maladministration and financial misconduct that undermines lawful administration.”

Ramabodu argued that allowing Mettler to remain in office could compromise municipal governance.

“The continued presence of Mettler in office constitutes a clear and ongoing risk to the integrity of municipal administration and the public interest.”

Ramabodu also cited the PP’s findings on the appointment of the Chief of Emergency Services.

“The Public Protector found that mandatory screening, qualification verification and reference checks were not completed prior to interviews, in direct contravention of municipal regulations.”

He said the report concluded that Mettler failed in his oversight responsibilities.

“This represents maladministration and improper conduct that materially contributed to a flawed and non-compliant recruitment process.”

Ramabodu also alleged that several senior appointments were made without complying with mandatory vetting requirements.

“There were instances where mandatory vetting processes were bypassed or not properly completed, resulting in irregular appointments and exposing the municipality to significant risk.”

Ramabodu criticised Mettler for the dismissal of 44 municipal workers who participated in the 2023 unprotected strike.

“The dismissals were effected without proper adherence to Labour Relations Act requirements and without individualised, verifiable evidence being placed before Council.”

He said the metro’s handling of the matter has exposed taxpayers to enormous financial liability.

“This has resulted in significant legal liability, including settlement costs estimated at around R1-billion over three years.”

He also questioned the metro’s management of disciplinary cases involving suspended officials.

“In the 2024/25 financial year alone, over R37-million was spent on officials sitting on precautionary suspension, with no productive output for the city.”

Ramabodu further alleged that delays in disciplinary proceedings had contributed to fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

“There has been a failure to finalise suspensions within prescribed timeframes, resulting in ongoing fruitless and wasteful expenditure.”

He also accused Mettler of withholding important information from Council.

“Mettler failed to table SIU findings before Council, thereby depriving Council of its constitutional oversight function.”

Ramabodu said the EFF is seeking Mettler’s precautionary suspension pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

He said good governance requires accountability.

“The administration must be subject to oversight and the law must be applied without fear or favour.”

However, the DA rejected the EFF’s complaint, arguing that the allegations are politically motivated and aimed at removing a city manager who has resisted corruption.

DA Tshwane Caucus leader Cilliers Brink said the move has little to do with governance, “but everything to do with his resolve in the face of tender rigging, fraud, and corruption”.

While acknowledging that Mettler is not perfect, Brink said he has played a key role in maintaining governance standards.

“He does insist on governance checks and balances. He is one of the few senior officials who provides a counterforce to those who benefit from systemic corruption in Tshwane.”

Brink claimed the DA had anticipated the move, saying, “What the DA predicted in 2024 is now coming to pass”.

He accused the Tshwane Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, of attempting to distance herself from the complaint.

“We suspect that Moya will try to hide behind the supposed confidentiality of the matter. By making the complaint public, we take away the fig leaf behind which she no doubt wants to keep hiding.”

Brink said that the matter is of significant public importance.

“What ultimately happens to Mettler will have major implications for the spending of taxpayers’ money, and the kind of city which a newly elected government will inherit after the 2026 local government election.”

Brink said some claims are directed at actions taken by officials reporting to Mettler rather than Mettler himself.

He also disputed allegations relating to the Rooiwal investigation.

“Ramabodu accuses Mettler of suppressing an SIU report into the Rooiwal tender. The SIU investigation and report are on the desk of the President, not Mettler.”

Brink further argued that Mettler has consistently resisted attempts to halt disciplinary action against officials implicated in the Rooiwal tender.

“Ramabodu’s main preoccupation has been facilitating the return to work of the so-called Rooiwal Five. This has placed him at odds with Mettler, who has publicly refused to drop the charges against these officials.”

He said the complaint is ultimately intended to remove Mettler from office while investigations continue.

“They simply want him suspended while their allegations are investigated, a process that can be dragged out until the 2026 local government election.”

According to Brink, appointing an acting city manager during that period could have significant consequences for governance and procurement.

“Mettler’s suspension would allow for an acting municipal manager to be appointed in his stead, presumably someone who will prove more pliant in the awarding of tenders flagged as irregular and ultimately blocked by Mettler,” he said.

“We understand that one of these tenders relate to Tshwane Show Grounds. Had this tender been awarded by Mettler, as recommended by Tshwane’s bid adjudication committee, a joint venture including a private company would have benefitted from a 50-year lease agreement on the showgrounds.”

Grandi Theunissen said the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) rejected the disciplinary report against Mettler because it is not an administrative decision but a ‘politically motivated hijacking’.

Theunissen said the report is the execution of a calculated strategy by the ANC/EFF/ActionSA coalition to remove an honest and independent administrator and replace him with a cadre who can be controlled by the coalition.

“The report, led by Ramabodu (EFF) and supported by the ANC Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise and ActionSA, is disguised as a disciplinary process.”

He said the FF+ emphasises that the coalition’s actions are ironic and unacceptable.

“Individuals who have themselves been convicted and fined for tender fraud are now dictating the rules and attempting to remove an honourable official because he refused to give in to corruption and the looting of public funds.”

Theunissen said this report is an attack on the integrity of the metro’s administration.

“The FF+ will use all available channels and legal steps to fight this purge and defend the metro.”

ActionSA’s National Chairperson, Michael Beaumont, said the efforts by the DA in Tshwane to sensationalise standard governance reports dealing with allegations levelled against Mettler should be called out as politicking.

Beaumont said that allegations have been levelled by a political party against the municipal manager, which automatically triggers a process outlined in the Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers.

“It therefore follows that the tabling of these allegations and the initiation of an investigation into the matter is not only prescribed in law, but is basic good governance to ensure that the most senior official in a municipality is beyond reproach.

“The DA is, presumably, aware of this, having dealt with similar matters during the eight years in which they governed the city, only exposing how the efforts to sensationalise the matter are opportunistic.”

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