The Labour Court’s ruling confirming the legality of the disciplinary steps taken against the so-called Rooiwal Five marks a decisive turning point in the fight against corruption within the Tshwane Metro.
This judgment puts an end to years of delay tactics and political interference aimed at derailing the disciplinary process.
The Court found that the officials could not provide sufficient evidence to stop the disciplinary steps, and that the disciplinary hearing was the appropriate forum to establish issues of fairness and procedure.
The court ruling confirms that the disciplinary action instituted under the previous City Manager, Johan Mettler, was lawful.
This means that the political victimisation of Mettler, who sought to root out corruption at Rooiwal, should be recognised as unlawful. His integrity and principled conduct deserve recognition, not the berating he had to endure.
Furthermore, the Tshwane Metro must take steps to recover the financial losses from the Rooiwal Five as well as from Edwin Sodi and his companies.
It is unacceptable that taxpayers have to foot the bill for a corrupt R300 million tender that caused billions in infrastructure damage. The relevant parties should be held personally liable for the destruction they have caused.
The court ruling also exposes the ANC/EFF coalition’s calculated efforts to shield the Rooiwal Five and to remove Mettler. This political interference did not serve the Metro, but plunged service delivery even deeper into crisis.
Such corrupt shielding of offenders has to be stopped in order to free Tshwane from the grip of opportunists who sacrifice the Metro’s interests for their own personal gain.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) will keep the pressure on until the relevant officials and contractors have been brought to book.
On 4 November, residents have the opportunity to vote for the Freedom Front Plus and put an end to maladministration, eradicate corruption, and build a metro where integrity and service delivery come first.
Freedom Front Plus Leadership: The party is currently led by Pieter Groenewald.
Flotsams54
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?
Cloudfrenzy
Laaitie – a young male [light-e] This term is used to describe a male in his teens or early twenties.