Johannesburg – The City of Joburg’s appointment criteria of senior executives has come under scrutiny following the recent appointment of Philisiwe Twala-Tau as the executive director for community development.
Twala-Tau is the wife of ex-Joburg mayor Parks Tau and is believed to be friends with Dikeledi Majola, the wife of current mayor Geoff Makhubo.
According to the DA caucus, Twala-Tau was part of a “so-called” empowerment deal with Gupta’s Regiments Capital in which she and Majola received shares worth tens of millions of rand at Capitec Bank.
“This deal was seen to be part of Regiments’ efforts to secure lucrative deals with the city – efforts which were rewarded with over R300 million in fees thanks to a contract awarded under Tau and Makhubo’s leadership.”
The caucus alleges the City failed to disclose financial records of the costs incurred.
It questioned the ranking scores by the panel members during the selection process. It was reported that all five candidates met the minimum requirements and were suitably qualified. The acquisition of an external expert who was also part of the interviewing process has also come under the spotlight.
City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane denied there was anything untoward about the appointment. He said all candidates were vetted through the City’s group forensic unit.
“Appointments within the city are done in line with relevant legislation and the Talent Acquisition Policy of the City. The position of ED Community Development was advertised and followed all due processes applicable to the vacancy.
“Ms Tau was interviewed along with five shortlisted candidates and emerged as the recommended candidate. The mayor does not participate in these processes and would only receive a report along with the mayoral committee, which is for noting and submission to council for approval and appointment,” Modingoane said.
Twala-Tau’s name recently did the rounds at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture when it emerged she had received R512 000 for a trip to New York for pupils in a programme she ran in 2016.
The caucus raised their concerns with Twala-Tau’s controversial past.
“There are various articles in the media around the 2012 time frame with allegations that link Ms Tau to Coral Lagoon Investments that won a lucrative contract to manage the city’s R2 billion liability redemption fund, of which Ms Tau owned a R10m shareholding in Coral Lagoon.”
The DA further claimed Twala-Tau’s submitted CV states she is currently providing consulting services to the German Development Co-operation, but she cannot even spell the word “co-operation” in her CV.
“It is shocking for anyone that applies for an executive position cannot perform a basic spell check function provided by Microsoft Word or at least proofread her own document.”
The DA said it would be inappropriate for this council to even consider appointing a candidate with a dark cloud over her.
“The residents of Johannesburg expect better than this from this council. We will continue to fight against cadre deployment, which has done so much damage to this country.”
The Star