Pretoria - Ousted Tshwane mayor Dr Murunwa Makwarela told senior municipal staff to desist from playing politics and stick to their professional jobs.
This was during a meeting held before city manager Johann Mettler yesterday broke the news that Makwarela had been disqualified as a councillor by virtue of being declared insolvent by the Gauteng High Court in 2016.
Makwarela assured workers that he was in charge to steady the ship, especially in the wake of tumultuous political developments in the metro.
Makwarela’s ascension to the top post was greeted by political drama when he surprisingly broke ranks with multiparty coalition partners and sided with the ANC and EFF, which backed him for the position.
He said: “I had the opportunity to meet with officials in the office of the executive mayor as a way to encourage them to continue performing their duties, to serve Tshwane residents and not get distracted by ongoing political developments in the City.”
He used the meeting with the staff to reiterate the commitments of instilling good governance to the city.
“The recent adverse auditor-general report compels us to move with speed and prioritise the needs of the people of Tshwane,” he said.
He told the staff they needed to be a professional team that worked together and “not play politics in the office”.
“I want to create a strong culture of excellence and high performance in the City of Tshwane. In the coming days, I intend to meet with the top management of the City to discuss plans to improve service delivery.”
Pretoria News