‘I have nothing to hide’ – Tshwane mayor on R26bn electricity project

This comes after opposition parties in the council accused him of interfering with procurement processes for the electricity supply project. 

The spat follows a leaked audio clip from a meeting chaired by Williams, which included officials from the city manager’s office, mayor’s office, electricity department, and operations cluster. 

The officials were discussing measures to ease load shedding in the city. 

Williams proposed an unsolicited R26 billion project with an Australian energy company, Kratos Energy, to refurbish, maintain, and operate the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power substations to self-generate 800 Megawatts of electricity for the city. 

Williams then submitted a forensic report to an emergency council meeting on Tuesday, which was rejected by the various parties accusing him of corruption. 

ActionSA, which is part of the DA-led multiparty coalition government, has since said it will report Williams to the public protector, Treasury, and police. 

The EFF in Tshwane laid criminal charges against him while the ANC says it will table a motion of no confidence against him. 

In a media briefing on Friday, Williams denied any wrongdoing and said that he is ready for any investigation into the matter. 

"I have nothing to hide.  The reports are public documents, they can be scrutinised and assessed. The officials in the city can be engaged and we can openly discuss how this matter has taken us a year to engage on,” he said.  

He added: “What is then even more disturbing to me is that our coalition partner Action SA is now sharing an edited 5-minute recording of this 90-minute meeting with the intention of 

trying to smear me. Effectively taking snippets of what has been said by various individuals in the meeting to drive their own political agenda. Using this to make false accusations against me.” 

“There are accusations that have been made against me that are quite frankly defamatory and I will be engaging my attorneys on possible legal action against the individuals concerned,” he said.  

William says he is fully committed towards making the coalition government work. 

Meanwhile, ActionSA says written to the multi-party coalition to request a meeting. 

"At this meeting, ActionSA will reiterate our commitment to the coalition in Tshwane, but it is our view that Randall Williams is not fit to lead it," says the party in a statement. 

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