Emfuleni spends R6m on legal fees for CFO’s disciplinary processes
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Emfuleni CFO Andile Dyakala, was suspended in March 2022 on five charges related to financial misconduct, unlawfulness, and derogatory statements on social media. Picture: Masi Losi.
Johannesburg - The Emfuleni Local Municipality has spent more than R6 million on lawyers and legal processes just to discipline the municipality’s suspended chief financial officer (CFO).
The CFO, Andile Dyakala, was suspended in March 2022 on five charges related to financial misconduct, unlawfulness, and derogatory statements on social media.
Since his suspension, he has received R1 614 747 for his salary, and the municipality has additionally paid a total of R6 479 606.88 in legal fees.
This information was provided by the Gauteng MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mzi Khumalo, in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng provincial legislature.
The Star understands that the bulk of the legal fees was spent on lawyers, the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and Bargaining Council processes, and the Labour Court.
According to Khumalo, the municipality paid Raskgoete Attorneys R1 046 363.68 and Advocate Zola Majavu R826 490.76. Raphela Attorneys was paid R2 407 474.07 for disciplinary matters and R574 285.51 for legal opinions. A sum of R2 075 562.07 was paid to the Labour Court, and only R450 570.24 was recovered from the CFO.
Emfuleni has recently been flagged over officials milking public funds through law firms that represent the municipality on various legal matters.
According to a response from the Gauteng government, Dyakala was suspended because of several accusations of financial misconduct, including extending the contracts of political staff and engaging in a social media spat with one of the MMCs.
DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala said he believed something wrong with the amount of money spent on disciplinary processes for only one employee.
“It is worrying that the residents of Emfuleni continue to suffer a lack of service delivery while millions are wasted on an individual sitting at home,” Chabalala said.
He said the amount of money spent on Dyakala was an insult to the residents of Emfuleni, who were battling with poor service delivery.
“This is an insult to the people of Emfuleni, who endure potholes, sewer leakages, and uncollected refuse daily. The DA believes that this case has dragged on for far too long at the expense of tax-paying residents,” Chabalala said.
The Star