Senior Joburg forensics services official facing possible suspension

A director in Johannesburg’s group forensics and investigation services (GFIS) could be placed on precautionary suspension over several allegations against her, which include instituting investigations to purge senior officials.

Lizzy Ramogale, director of strategic management support, was served with a letter of intent on Tuesday to suspend her by acting group head of the GFIS Sinaye Nxumalo. 

It is alleged DA members weaponised the GFIS unit and used it to purge employees who did not align with them through investigations. 

At the centre of the suspension is Ramogale’s role in the alleged purge of senior staff members like city manager, Floyd Brink and Nxumalo.

Two more members whom TimesLIVE understands were in the DA camp are expected to be suspended. They cannot be named as they have not been served with letters yet.

In a statement this week, the city said some of the allegations have resulted in financial prejudice while the city has been devising strategies to reduce unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. 

Ramogale is expected to make written submissions by Friday. The city will consider her defence by March 10.

According to the suspension notice letter leaked to TimesLIVE, Ramogale is accused of:

• Alleged intimidation of subordinate officials who had lodged a grievance against her. Performing unlawful, investigations against senior management circumventing approved council procedures thereby denying senior officials right of response.
• Failure to apply her mind in granting locomotive allowance/s to officials within her authority, thereby giving it to those close to her and under her direct management (SMS), discriminating against others of a similar job description and/or activities within the department.
• Other complaints involve misuse of money, not following due process, and personal enrichment.

The looming suspension follows a complaint by Nxumalo against Ramogale filed with the city council in February where she alleged that during August she was contacted by a law firm that requested to interview her about allegations, as instructed by the GFIS.

She subsequently declined as acting city manager Bryne Maduka was not aware of the investigation.

Therefore there was no council resolution to subject her to an investigation, Nxumalo said in her complaint.

“Mr Maduka denied having any knowledge of the investigation and indicated that he had not approved the appointment of SGV attorneys from the city’s legal panel to conduct this investigation.”

Nxumalo alleged that on August 18 last year, Ramogale wrote an email to some senior officials seeking advice on how to proceed with this investigation but did not copy Maduka.

In September Ramogale allegedly expanded the scope of the investigation.

Nxumalo was investigated on six complaints and the SGV made no adverse findings in five.

“The one complaint that SGV has claimed to be still busy with are documents which are in the form of invoices that they were given in January 2023.

“I have not been made privy to the SGV report, but Lizzy [Ramogale] recently confirmed to me that there was indeed a draft investigation report and claimed that she had obtained authority to investigate by Bryne Maduka.

“It is clear that GFIS did not have the authority to investigate me without a council resolution,” Nxumalo said.

She also charged Phalatse was against her, “each time that the former executive mayor is voted out through a motion of no confidence in the city, she tweets about me. It is clear from this that it has been her strategy to use GFIS as a weapon to find her political opponents using my name”.

In February Nxumalo laid formal complaints against former mayor Mpho Phalatse Ramogale and others relating to an investigation that resulted in her suspension.

TimesLIVE has reached out to Ramogale for comment and she had not responded at the time of publishing. The story will be updated with her comment when received. 

TimesLIVE

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