Tshwane could claim back salary payments from Makwarela, says spokesperson

It wants to recover money paid to him as both an ordinary councillor and council speaker.

Makwarela ended his brief stint as the city’s first citizen on Friday, tendering his resignation hours after the Chief Registrar of the High Court in Pretoria confirmed that she did not issue his insolvency clearance certificate. 

Makwarela, who is a member of Cope, was disqualified as a PR councillor earlier this week due to his financial troubles.

He later handed the certificate to the city manager and was subsequently reinstated as mayor.

But on Friday the registrar said the certificate was fake and that the matter has been referred to the Hawks.

Spokesperson Selby Bokaba says city manager Johann Mettler could also lay criminal charges against the embattled former mayor. 

“The city manager is engaged in a process with legal advisors and then on Monday we will be able to announce a way forward. But all the issues that we are raising are part of a package of issues that the city manager is considering based on the legal advice that we are going to receive. There are two issues here, the one issue is the disqualification of Dr Makwarela," says Bokaba. 

“Dr Makwarela was not supposed to be a councillor on 6 November 2021. The second issue has to do with if we are going to claim all the money paid to Dr Makwarela when he was an ordinary councillor and when he was elected speaker on 20 January 2022. All those issues will form part of a bouquet of issues that the city is seized with legal services.” 

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