Controversial Joburg MMC Mbundu now accused of lying

Johannesburg - City of Joburg member of the mayoral committee for economic development Nkululeko Mbundu has been branded a 'liar' following a board meeting where he said he only knew one board member.

This comes as Mbundu has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past few weeks. According to insiders at the Metropolitan Trading Company, Mbundu was quizzed about his relationship with board members, and if he knew them personally before they were appointed.

"In the meeting, he said he only knew one person, which is a lie. He served on the board of his child's school along with another board member. He has also worked with some of the individuals in his past life," said a source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mbundu's response to the board contradicts what he said in March this year. Asked about his relationship with the board members and if he had a history with any of them, he confirmed he knew two of them, the board chairperson and another board member, from his time at Vodacom.

"I have declared both my relationships. Knowing a person does not rise to the level of a conflict. It also does not disqualify a person from (a potential appointment). Even if it did, the right thing to do is to disclose the relationship and ensure that whatever conflict may exist is managed. Equally, recruitment processes are transparent, and not at the sole discretion of any one person," he said.

Mbundu's flip-flopping has him at loggerheads with many people he works with. Some of them have accused him of being a liar and have even accused him of not being fit to hold office.

"The MMC is not stable to hold such an office," said another source.

Mbundu has recently found himself in the firing line, with complaints about his actions and conduct being reported to the National Treasury and the speaker of the council.

In one instance, he was accused of meddling in the procurement process of the Joburg Property Company (JPC), and National Treasury wrote a letter advising the City to lay criminal charges against him.

That was after a meeting recording showed Mbundu instructing members of the JPC to start the process of appointing service providers and calling for the inclusion of others who were not initially shortlisted.

He is also involved in a bribery scandal where he claimed he was offered R3 000 and a bottle of whiskey. A disciplinary hearing was set up for the employee who allegedly tried to bribe Mbundu.

The employee was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing. The report was handed over to the City, but they were dissatisfied with the outcome, and sought a legal opinion on the findings.

Sources in the City claimed that the reason for seeking a legal opinion was to protect Mbundu and eliminate the official, whose name is known to this publication.

According to the source, the chairperson found no logical explanation for the manager bribing Mbundu. However, the legal opinion and report compiled by the City's legal department felt that the manager was trying to bribe Mbundu.

It has been said that the alleged R3 000 bribe and bottle of whiskey were to ensure Mbundu renewed the Metropolitan Trading Company's wi-fi contract. Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse's spokesperson Mabine Seabe said there was nothing untoward with the actions taken by the City.

Meanwhile, the City of Joburg coalition government has been forced onto the defensive. The City has been at the centre of scandals that appear to be cropping up out of every corner. Phalatse has been accused of allegedly covering up evidence implicating former commissioner of Johannesburg's Group Forensic Investigative Services (GFIS) Shadrack Sibiya.

He is accused of assuming the functions of the State Security Agency (SSA), misappropriating R8 million and spending it on a grabber. Speaker of Council Vasco da Gama is accused of protecting Phalatse and is said to be refusing to table the report on the matter.