The Office of the Executive Mayor has today, 12 May 2020, issued Ms. Malaika Mahlatsi with a notice of intention to suspend her employment with the City of Ekurhuleni for contravening the Municipal Systems Act (MSA): Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members and the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) Social Media Policy. In terms of the MSA Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members Schedule 2.2 (d), “A staff member of a municipality must at all times, act in the best interest of the municipality and in such a way that the credibility and integrity of the municipality are not compromised.”
In terms of the CoE Social Media Policy, Chapter 6, Section 4.4, “Personal use of social media must be conducted in a manner that indicates no link or association with the CoE. For this reason, personal use is not covered in this policy.” And Section 4.5, “The CoE will, however, take necessary steps should users make the use of social media in a manner that has a direct, indirect or potential impact on the CoE’s reputation or interests.” The Office of the Executive Mayor has noted with great concern the circulation of an alleged audio recording of Ms. Mahlatsi on social media, in which she claims that the Executive Mayor decreased the salaries of staff members in Municipality without consultation. The claims are untrue and devoid of factuality. The Executive Mayor, upon deciding to donate 33% of his salary to the Solidarity Fund, consulted the Speaker of Council, Chief Whip, Members of the Mayoral Committee, the City Manager, the Group Chief Financial Officer and, all Heads of Department to encourage them to join himself and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to contribute to the fund. The above mentioned elected public representatives and officials, signed pledge forms authorising the City’s Department of Human Resources to deduct a portion of their salaries and redirect the donations to the Solidarity Fund. The Executive Mayor has no authority to decrease the salaries of municipal staff. The Office of the Executive Mayor would also wish to clarify the following information regarding the claims that Ms. Mahlatsi is “doing” a Ph.D on behalf of the Executive Mayor: • The Executive Mayor is currently in the early stage of preparing his research proposal for a Doctoral Degree in Philosophy • At no point has any individual authored or contributed to the contents of the research proposal, including anyone who was reviewing or proof reading the material • The Executive Mayor has and continues to adhere to the student code of conduct of the institution In terms of Clause 16.3 of the CoE Disciplinary Procedure Collective Agreement, Ms. Mahlatsi will be placed on suspension with full pay and an internal investigation into the matter is currently underway.
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