Tshwane city manager faces suspension after EFF report prompts council action

Tshwane council has adopted a report that could see city manager Johann Mettler suspended. The council gave Mettler one week to explain why he should not be suspended after a complaint from the EFF prompted the action.

What the complaint alleges

Tshwane EFF leader Obakeng Ramabodu tabled a 45-page report accusing Mettler of maladministration and of irregular recruitment related to the city’s Emergency Medical Services chief. The report also accused Mettler of failing to carry out mandatory vetting in the appointments of Ashraf Adam as a senior manager and Revo Spies as deputy chief of the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD).

Ramabodu said the TMPD deputy chief position was a non-existent post. He additionally accused Mettler of obstruction for the suspension of the Special Investigating Unit Rooiwal wastewater treatment works findings and of the unlawful dismissal of 44 municipal workers.

Council response and next steps

Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya said she had a statutory obligation to place the allegations before council for consideration and emphasised that the tabling of the report is a procedural requirement and does not constitute a finding that any misconduct has occurred. She said the council had now initiated the prescribed statutory process.

Moya also noted that the council considered an update on an investigation into alleged misconduct by Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi, and said it would be inappropriate to comment on the findings or recommendations of either report while they remain under consideration. She warned that extracts or summaries of confidential council documents appearing in public do not necessarily reflect the full context and said processes must be allowed to run their course.

Political reactions

DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the ANC coalition’s apparent objective was to remove Mettler because he stood in the way of alleged tender rigging, fraud and corruption. Brink described the EFF report as containing “vaguely defined accusations” and said some of the criticisms levelled at Mettler related to matters beyond his control.

“The object is clearly to have Mettler suspended and replaced by a city manager who will sign off on rigged tenders, which Mettler has been stopping,” Brink said.

Brink pointed to one tender he said had gone to a company implicated at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry for a lease on the Pretoria showgrounds, and said that company was linked to EFF leader Julius Malema in testimony. He said his party would await any report tabled by Mayor Moya and consult attorneys if necessary.

ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont described Brink’s stance as politicking.

What happens now

The council has given Johann Mettler a week to respond to the allegations before any suspension would take effect. The matter will continue through the statutory processes the council has initiated.

Source: The Citizen Marizka Coetzer, 29 June 2026