GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Garden Route District Municipality's mayor, Memory Booysen, is yet again caught in the headlights, with the train seemingly coming from the DA tunnel. 

According to a letter that was apparently sent to Helen Zille, chairperson of the DA's Federal Council, Booysen's political party colleagues are accusing him of skimming over issues which would place Municipal Manager Monde Stratu in a difficult position.

In the unsigned letter that is purported to be from Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) DA Caucus chairperson Hilton Stroebel and features his name and details as the sender, Stroebel appeals to the DA's Federal Legal Executive (Fedex) to consider that Booysen be suspended from all party-political activities and charged with misconduct in terms of the Federal Constitution.

After seeing the letter in question, George Herald asked Stroebel for comment on its content, but after numerous requests for comment - that Stroebel had read, as the WhatsApps were blue-ticked - no comment was received and the letter could not be authenticated.

Zille was also asked if she had received the letter from Stroebel, but she too kept mum, only saying that they are working through the DA processes.

However, George Herald has it on excellent authority that the letter is indeed real and was sent by Stroebel to Zille.

The letter lists several issues that apparently worry the DA Caucus, including the fact that Booysen allegedly did not implement a recommendation by the Federal Legal Committee to suspend Stratu. According to another source, it is Stroebel's second appeal to the Fedex to act against Booysen, with a first attempt in August last year.

Recommendation

The letter explains that Booysen "allegedly awaits a response regarding this matter from the Governance Unit (GU), which will assist us in drafting an item, to be submitted to Council".

Booysen allegedly told the caucus that he did not have the charge sheet or the administration. However, the letter claims that the MPAC chairperson, Danie Acker (FF Plus), confirmed that he already is in possession of the charge sheet.

In the letter it is stated that a complaint was received on Monday 29 January, for the investigation of financial misconduct which implicates Stratu and two senior officials. Instead of affording Stratu an opportunity to make written representations to the municipality and follow legislative provisions, Booysen allegedly advised Council to merely "note" the allegations.

Closed session

The letter writer is also troubled by the fact that the special council meeting of 26 January, where Council considered and approved a waiver application in favour of Stratu for over R2,4m was dealt with in a closed session. 

Stroebel - if it is him - writes that when he enquired from the speaker why the item was being discussed and considered during a closed session, the speaker simply replied that she received the item like that from the administration. 

A caucus vote ensued and the majority was in support of the item being discussed in a closed section. Stroebel and some other councillors thought the item to be in the public interest.

Zille

Helen Zille's comment on the letter is as follows: "I do not discuss internal DA matters in the media. We work through the DA processes to achieve accountability and due process. We have to respect the separation between the party (for which I am responsible) and the state (in this case, the Garden Route District Municipality) for which I cannot take decisions. 

All questions relating to the district municipality must please be directed to the municipality. The DA's processes will proceed on the basis of our constitution and rules."

Chairperson of the Garden Route Ratepayers Alliance Steve Pattinson confirmed that their organisation too has sent a letter on these matters to Zille's office.

"We are still waiting for feedback on the issue of the salary waiver and gratuity payment from Bredell," said Pattinson. "It is a different matter, but they are all linked. We don't understand why Stratu is still in office."

Booysen

Booysen's response to the letter is as follows: "Neither the Garden Route District Municipality nor I, in my capacity as executive mayor, were recipients of the letter. My first encounter with it was on Facebook, and it has only now been brought to my attention by you.

"The absence of a signature casts doubts on its legitimacy. Furthermore, if the letter is genuine, it is astonishing to learn that Cllr Stroebel is its author. He has been a regular participant in all GRDM DA caucus and council meetings, where the issues mentioned in the letter are thoroughly discussed, debated, and resolved.

"Consequently, I am not comfortable addressing any of the questions raised regarding the letter."

MM Monde Stratu presents Memory Booysen with the mayoral chain on 25 November 2021. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

What is new?

In a nutshell, those in the know are currently tight-lipped about anything Stratu-related.

Although never confirmed by Bredell, George Herald is privy to a letter Bredell sent to Booysen dated 21 September 2022, in which he gives his support for the waiver application to the National Minister of Cooperative Governance, to permit the municipality to offer Stratu a TARP of R2 423 413. Cogta recently approved the waiver, and an item served in council during a special meeting on 26 January, in which Council considered and approved the waiver application. It was not open to the public.

In their feedback on the waiver request, GRDM head of communications Herman Pieters said it's common practice for all spheres of government to request waivers because of the structure of salaries. Pieters said any claims suggesting that Stratu's waivers lacked prior approval are baseless. 

"The GRDM Council unanimously endorsed the revised salary package for the Municipal Manager. The waiver for Mr Stratu's previous term (2016/17 – 2021/22) was also reaffirmed. Moreover, for his current term, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has endorsed Mr Stratu's waiver. Therefore, any claims suggesting that Mr Stratu's waivers lacked prior approval are baseless." Read the full feedback below under the heading: "About the waiver: GRDM gets the floor".

Court matter

A letter from the Garden Route Ratepayers Alliance was sent to Bredell on 27 January, in which they query Bredell's decision to support the waiver, asking him why Stratu is allowed to continue in his position, "and to receive these unjustified increases in light of his legal woes".

The "legal woes" refers to a court matter in which Stratu is involved. Stratu will again appear in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on Friday 23 February on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering. The charges against Stratu and the former Knysna municipal manager Dr Sitembele Vatala relate to an alleged property dispute between GRDM and Knysna Municipality. Stratu made his first court appearance on 9 March 2023. At the time, the GRDM Council resolved to carry Stratu's legal costs and that he will remain in office.

Recent history: The waiver, gratuity payment and 106 notice

Let's circle back to where it all began. The salary waiver application started some two years ago in May 2022, when a request to raise Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Municipal Manager Monde Stratu's yearly income from R1,6m to R2,4m was sent through the proper government channels.

Stratu was just starting his second term as MM, with another five-year-contract. This request for a stretch to the upper limits of his salary, plus a gratuity payment to Stratu of just under R1m (R979 000) in 2021, at the end of his first term, raised eyebrows.

A request in May 2022 by a group called the Garden Route Corruption Busters, asking MEC of Local Government Anton Bredell to investigate the allegations, paid off when Bredell issued a section 106 notice to the GRDM speaker in March last year, 2023.

Bredell made it clear that he had reason to believe that maladministration or other serious malpractice has occurred (or is occurring) within the district municipality.

Wouter Kriel, spokesperson for Bredell, at the time said the report relates to alleged financial misconduct, such as improper gratuity payments to certain political appointees, and a failure to comply with the upper limits of total remuneration packages payable for municipal managers and managers directly accountable to the municipal manager.

Since Bredell's announcement in March last year that the GRDM was issued with a section 106 notice, the last feedback on the matter was received a month later, in April 2023, when Kriel confirmed that the department received documentation from GRDM within the allocated time frame. "We are currently working through the documents, and will only know the way forward once everything has been taken into consideration. It is not possible to say exactly when this will be completed," said Kriel.

Thereafter, further requests for communication on the subject have not been heeded. More enquiries were sent about the more recent developments in Council, but no feedback reached George Herald at the time of going to press.

About the waiver: GRDM gets the floor

On a request for more information on the topic of MM Stratu's waiver approvals, GRDM head of communications Herman Pieters shared the following information:

The GRDM council acknowledged the submission and subsequent approval of a waiver for the salary cap of the municipal manager, Monde Stratu.

The GRDM council unanimously endorsed the revised salary package for the Municipal Manager. The waiver for Mr Stratu's previous term (2016/17 – 2021/22) was also reaffirmed.

Moreover, for his current term, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has endorsed Mr Stratu's waiver. Therefore, any claims suggesting that Mr Stratu's waivers lacked prior approval are baseless.

Further to this, there is a response awaited from Cogta for a waiver for the GRDM CFO, who is also paid less than one of his subordinates. It is common practice for all spheres of government to request waivers because of the structure of salaries.

Contrary to assertions that support was only recently granted, the municipal manager's salary increase was approved by the council on 26 January 2024, following the procedures. The municipal manager's salary has always been aligned with the prescribed upper limits.

In May 2022, the council requested a waiver from these upper limits, which was endorsed by the provincial MEC of Local Government and forwarded to Cogta. It took nearly two years to receive feedback from Cogta on the waiver. Official approval from Cogta was received on 23 October 2023, and only now in January, the municipal manager's salary has been adjusted in accordance with the National Minister's authorisation.

The ongoing debate over the 2017 waiver approval was resolved by the council well in advance. The letter endorsing the 2017 waiver was presented to the GRDM council, confirming its approval and the consequent salary adjustment for the municipal manager.

Despite this, some continue to question the 2017 waiver's legitimacy. Upon inquiry, Cogta verified their endorsement of the 2017 waiver, rendering any further disputes unfounded. It remains perplexing why the matter, conclusively settled in 2022, would continue to be pursued.

Cogta's correspondence explicitly verified the 2017 waiver's approval, stating: "I hereby wish to confirm that the waiver approved by the Minister covered the period from 1 March 2017 to 28 February 2022."

This confirmation puts to rest any doubts regarding the legitimacy of the waivers granted to Mr Stratu.

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