City of Joburg and City of Tshwane in R1m salary scandal

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Johannesburg - Senior councillors are outraged that an executive pocketed over R1million in a suspected double salary payment scandal from the City of Joburg and the City of Tshwane for four months following an alleged “fraudulent and improper” appointment. Internal documents - including payslips - from both Joburg and Tshwane show that Cynthia Ramulifho, Joburg’s executive director of group corporate and shared services, received a combined salary of R669000 from Tshwane for four months after beginning her Joburg post in November last year. Ramulifho is said to have not terminated her contract with the City of Tshwane - where she was also an executive director - when she was appointed into her new position, an act which the City of Joburg, in an internal document, alleged was “fraudulent and improper”. The City of Joburg is investigating the matter. There is, however, an uproar from senior DA leaders in Joburg questioning what they term “the shambles” involving Ramulifho’s appointment.

“The city manager agrees that Cynthia’s appointment was flawed. What I fail to understand is how simple vetting procedures were flouted. Did no one bother to pick up a phone?” an insider asked.

Another senior source said an entry-level salary in Joburg for Ramulifho’s position was R183 000 a month.

“This means that in the four months Cynthia has worked for us, she has received over R730000.

“If her appointment is found to be fraudulent, the city would’ve lost this money,” the source said.

Combined with the money the City of Tshwane said she received from it, this brings the total to more than R1.3m.

Last month, a letter from Tshwane city manager Moeketsi Mosola to his Joburg counterpart Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni stated that the capital city had not “received a letter of resignation (or) any documents relating to a termination of her services and she has thus received full payment of her salary”

However, Mosola, on Tshwane’s behalf, had entered into an “agreement of separation” contract with Ramulifho, where she was supposed to get a more than R3.5m golden handshake and which the city manager signed in December 2017.

Ramulifho signed the agreement in October, five days before she started her Joburg job.

Yesterday, Ramulifho was adamant that all the allegations against her would be cleared by the probe.

“I never committed any fraudulent or improper conduct. The allegations are malicious, vexatious, frivolous and do not require that I must be suspended. The truth must be told,” Ramulifho said.

City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said political office-bearers were not involved in disciplinary processes of employees.

Modingoane said the city was aware of the allegations around Ramulifho's appointment.

He said city manager Lukhwareni and mayor Herman Mashaba had been briefed on the issues, including the disciplinary process instituted.

“At this stage, the city is not in a position to discuss the matter with the media as the matter is currently being addressed in committee,” he said.

On Joburg's vetting process, Modingoane said no “negative information was detected on Ms Ramulifho's profile which may have rendered her a risk to the city”.

“We must caution against the publication of matters that are part of in-committee proceedings.

"This caution is given to ensure the rights of the employee concerned and the administrative processes of the municipality are not unduly infringed and prejudiced by your publication,” Modingoane said.

Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo confirmed that the city had communicated with the City of Joburg regarding the allegations, adding: “Once the investigation has been completed, the City of Tshwane will be able to comment further."

The Star