Johannesburg - The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) has threatened to sue Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse should she fail to apologise for describing the entity as corrupt.
The Star has seen lawyer’s papers that have been delivered to Phalatse’s office from JPC attorneys demanding a retraction of her statements and an apology for tarnishing the name of the entity.
The incident took place last month, at a time when Phalatse had been removed as mayor.
Phalatse had said: "The JPC engaged in acts of fraud and corruption involving millions of taxpayers' (money) syphoned off a company linked to ANC."
Phalatse had alleged that the JPC had funded the plans to oust her through the syphoning of R27m, which was used to bribe councillors and ensure that the ANC returns to power.
These allegations caused a stir in the JPC, leading to the CEO of the municipal company being placed on temporary suspension.
JPC had rubbished these allegations, saying that the entity had nothing to do with Phalatse’s removal and that the allegations she made were baseless.
JPC had explained that it had to pay some money to a company that had leased a building to the municipality’s finance department. The contract for the lease had been cancelled early, and the municipality had to ensure that the building was back in its original state. The matter had even gone before the courts to force the municipal entity to pay the landlord.
"The payment by JPC was for refurbishment costs, outstanding rental, and interest for the premises occupied by the city’s Group Finance Department from June 1, 2001, until the City was sued for breach of the lease agreement," read the lawyer’s letter.
The lawyers said the statements that Phalatse had made were defamatory and placed JPC employees in a position of confusion. The entity was also at risk of reputational damage. The company demanded "an unconditional public retraction of 48 hours upon receipt hereof an unconditional public apology in respect of these statements."
Phalatse has also been asked to retract statements made on social media about JPC. She has also been asked to refrain from making further statements that would damage the reputation of the entity.
Mabine Seabe, the mayor's spokesperson, responded to The Star with a letter from the mayor's attorneys stating that Phalatse would not apologize.
The attorneys indicated that there were several investigations into corruption involving the lease in question.
The Star