Mashaba asks his city to investigate him
The Johannesburg Council Ethics Committee is set to probe Mayor Herman Mashaba's conduct following allegations that he hired his wife to fix the city's financial problems.
Mashaba denies that he was in breach of the conflict of interest principal by awarding a tender to a company owned by his wife.
He insists that Lephatsi Financial Services provided the services free of charge.
"There was no conflict of interest, it was not an unsolicited bid and no advantage or benefit was derived. It was a dedicated South African willing to give of their time, free of charge, to the benefit of our City," says Mashaba.
The matter relates to the insourcing of security guards.
He claims that opposition political parties are conspiring against him.
"The simple truth was that this move to insource security guards in the City caused a lot of unhappiness in the circles of the politically connected few who have made a fortune from the over 90 security contracts that the City has held valued at R640 million."
However, he says he has himself referred the matter for further investigations.
"Whilst I believe I have responded to the matter sufficiently, I have committed to run the City of Johannesburg whilst holding myself to the highest ethical standards. It is time that citizens believe in their political leadership, and this can only happen when we set the bar higher."
Unlike what we have seen across our country, political leaders with nothing to hide must step forward and be fully accountable to their residents. pic.twitter.com/QB441BlDPF
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) February 21, 2018