gwen ramokgopa


New mayor will deal with Kekana report

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 No Comments by Zelda

A report on misconduct and maladministration allegations against Tshwane’s former municipal manager will have to be dealt with by the city’s new incoming mayor.

“All records” involving the investigation into the allegations against Kiba Kekana would remain with the city council, Gwen Ramokgopa said at her final press conference as Tshwane mayor on Monday.

“Council will get a full report thereof. It’s not like we are just leaving everything unattended. There is a team that is remaining. It has always been the process of a collective and that institution will continue in that regard.”

President Jacob Zuma on Sunday announced Ramokgopa’s appointment as deputy health minister.

Former Truth and Reconciliation commissioner Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza was tasked in February with investigating Kekana.

His report, handed to Ramokgopa in June, has yet to see the light of day. It had not been presented to the city’s council.

Kekana was suspended in October last year on 11 allegations of mismanagement. Five of these charges were subsequently dropped.

The Pretoria News reported in April that Ntsebeza and Ramokgopa clashed over the dropping of these charges, which it said had the potential to implicate Ramokgopa in wrongdoing.

The newspaper reported Kekana had failed to control Ramokgopa’s expenditure, which related to Ramokgopa receiving a housing allowance while occupying a municipal-owned house, and the municipality paying for all her cellphone calls.

Speaking of her appointment, she said: “I leave the City of Tshwane with mixed feelings. I feel humbled and honoured by the appointment as an acknowledgement of the contributions I have made in my various leadership roles within the ANC, society and in public offices.”

Democratic Alliance spokesperson Derek Fleming said the party was “relieved” she would no longer be executive mayor.

“Although she was… always polite and courteous in the personal conduct of her office; most residents and certainly many municipal staffers would be glad to see the back of her.

“Gwen’s principal concern seemed to focus on how often a day she could appear in the media with selected residents as backdrop, while she ran a detached and sometimes indifferent administration that brought frustration, dismay and uneven development across the metro area.”

Credit to: Sapa and News24

Related stories on Mobilitate News:

Pressure building for Tshwane’s Gwen

  • Email
Tagged ,

New mayor is Gwen’s newphew

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 No Comments by Zelda

The new mayor of Tshwane is Kgosientso Sputla Ramokgopa, nephew of former mayor Gwen Ramokgopa.

The ANC’s Gauteng provincial executive committee appointed Sputla Ramokgopa as the mayor last night.

Ramokgopa got the job after his aunt was sworn in as the new deputy health minister. He would be mayor until the municipal elections next year. It is also during this time that the ANC has made it its mission to focus on service delivery.

ANC Gauteng spokesman Dumisa Ntuli said Ramokgopa would be able to steer the city towards a long-term development of the municipality in improving service delivery.

“I am finishing a term but in these few months I will use my management skills to accelerate service delivery,” he said last night. “And it is small issues like ensuring that traffic lights are working, collecting rates and billing rates correctly, that we will focus on,” said Ramokgopa.

Sputla Ramokgopa, recently appointed chairman of the ANC’s Tshwane regional executive commitee, was endorsed as Gwen Ramokgopa’s successor ahead of Dikeledi Lehobye and Sibongile Maselelane, mayoral committee members for community safety and roads and stormwater.

According to Beeld ‘n senior ANC member said the party could not have afford to tackle the municipal elections next year with Gwen Ramokgopa as mayor

“She did not meet the expectations that was set in 2006. She might perform better now (as deputy health minister).”

The official opposition party in Tshwane, the Democratic Alliance, described her as the worst mayor of all the poor-performing ANC mayors across the country.

Credit to: Times Live and News24

Related stories on Mobilitate News:

Tshwane might get another Ramokgopa

  • Email
Tagged , ,

Tshwane might get another Ramokgopa

Monday, November 1, 2010 No Comments by Zelda

President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle has left the capital without a mayor as Gwen Ramokgopa is now the deputy Health minister.  

With one Ramokgopa gone, Tshwane can expect another. Sources said the capital city is swapping current Tshwane mayor for Kgosientso Sputla Ramokgopa, who is currently chairman of the regional ANC. But the party’s Burton Joseph is not letting on.

“We are going to meet. We will forward to the Provincial Executive Committee of Gauteng province the names of three potential candidates for the mayor of the city,” said Joseph.

The DA’s Brandon Topham welcomed the move.

“The DA in Tshwane is relieved that we are going to have an opportunity for a new mayor that might be able to bring about  improvements in the lack of service delivery in our city,” said Topham.

He said it is another example of the ANC promoting an under-performer.

Former Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa will be Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s second pair of hands.

Dr Motsoaledi has been without a deputy since Molefi Sefularo was killed in a car accident on Easter Monday. Having delegated a wide range of tasks to Dr Sefularo, the health minister told Business Day recently that it had been “tough, very tough” to be without a deputy for the past six months.

The only relief was that the World Cup was over, as this was one of the responsibilities delegated to the widely respected Dr Sefularo.

Dr Ramokgopa qualified as a medical doctor in 1989. She also has a masters degree in public health administration, which she obtained in 2007. She was Gauteng’s health MEC for seven years, from 1999 to 2006, after which she was appointed mayor of Tshwane.

The Democratic Alliance’s health spokesman, Mike Waters, said the DA was disappointed by the move.

“She didn’t perform well as health MEC, nor has she as mayor. We are quite disappointed, given the importance of the portfolio and the huge task that lies ahead,” he said.

“The finances of Tshwane have gone from fairly stable to critical, and, as MEC of health, (the department) wasn’t turned around. There was no bold decision-making or leadership. At best she’s been lacklustre.”

Credit to: Eyewitness News and Business Day

  • Email
Tagged , ,

Pressure building for Tshwane’s Gwen

Monday, October 25, 2010 No Comments by Zelda

Cosatu has criticsied Dr Gwen Ramokgopa,mayor of the City of Tshwane, for holding onto the mysterious Ntsebeza report and the pressure is building for the report to be released.

The report came after an investigation into municipal manger Kiba Kekana and allegations about mismanagement and other irregularitues. Kekana was “temporarily” suspended a year ago.

It has also come to light that the special investigation unit is investigating the Tshwane municipality.

Read the full story in Beeld here.

  • Email
Tagged ,