City Power welcomes Joburg mayor's investigation into tenders

City Power chairperson Reverend Frank Chikane has welcomed the decision taken by City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba to institute an independent forensic investigation into the entity’s tenders valued at billions of rands.

“The board’s meeting on Monday welcomed the forensic investigations from the mayors office to be conducted by Sizwe Nsabula Gobodo [Incorporated] and pledged to give this process our overwhelming support‚” said Chikane.

Earlier this month‚ the mayor said that he had decided to investigate the state entity after information was handed to his office‚ including allegations that the Chikane’s wife was awarded a tender – purported to be a project of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Through a statement on Wednesday‚ Chikane‚ denied the claims against his spouse‚ and vowed to take legal steps to defend himself and his wife.

The reverend‚ who is also a veteran of the African National Congress‚ has vowed to take legal action against those that made those claims if they do not institute a public apology by Monday.

He said that that under his leadership‚ the board had driven a zero-tolerance policy against fraud and corruption.

Chikane takes a stand against City Power corrupt officials

Reverend Frank Chikane has taken a stand against corrupt City Power officials who are implicated in fraud and corruption at the state entity.

Speaking at the entity’s headquarters in Johannesburg on Thursday‚ the chairman said those individuals would be dealt with

“City Power like any other organization has been plagued by opportunistic crime and I must say that where the management systems are not strong‚ it’s easy to have fraud‚” said Chikane.

“But in some instances‚ people make sure that the systems don’t work so that they can commit fraudulent activities‚” he added.

His remarks come as Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba had ordered an investigation into some of City Power’s multi-billion rand tenders.

On Tuesday‚ the mayor announced that he had sacked Anthony Still‚ a member of his mayoral committee‚ due to a disagreement about investigating two senior City Power officials. He cited that they could no longer agree on an approach on how to deal with corruption at City Power.

Kagiso Chikane‚ Reverend Chikane’s wife is among those accused of getting tenders.

This was after the South African Municipal Workers Union officials alleged that City Power director Sicelo Xulu approved and awarded a tender for scientific and industrial research to Chikane’s wife. Both Chikane and Xulu have denied the claims.

Chikane said he will initiate legal action against those former SAMWU members if they don’t make a public apology by Monday.

“They really want to maliciously damage my integrity‚ and that’s why I decided last week that I am not going to allow this.”

An anti-fraud and corruption unit has since been established by City Power to clamp down on unlawful activities

Chikane also said those who made allegations of corruption against City Power before the new administration took over were under the impression that the mayor would believe them.

According to the board chairman‚ 874 cases were registered with the police since 2014. — TMG Digital