DA stung by ANC nepotism charge

The City of Cape Town has been rocked by fresh allegations of nepotism and tender manipulation involving its transport and urban development authority commissioner Melissa Whitehead.

In a heated meeting of the transport and urban development committee on Thursday, the opposition ANC alleged that Whitehead was guilty of nepotism for hiring two friends.

It further alleged that Whitehead was involved in unfairly advantaging a Chinese company, BYD, to secure a R249-million tender to manufacture 11 electric buses.

The allegations come after the Sunday Times published an article alleging that Whitehead threatened and coerced members of the city's bid evaluation committee for the foreshore freeway precinct to award the tender to a particularly entity.

Whitehead denied the allegations and claimed that the city's employment and tender processes had been followed.

Tempers flared between ANC and DA councillors during Thursday's meeting.

At one point the chairman of the committee, Anthony Moses, wanted to kick the ANC out when the party raised questions relating to Whitehead's friends.

The ANC revealed at a press conference before the meeting that Whitehead's friends were a married couple. She had allegedly gone on an overseas holiday with them in 2015.

The ANC found images of Whitehead and the couple abroad on Facebook.

ANC councillor Bheki Hadebe alleged that Whitehead sat on the interview panel when the wife applied for a top management position with a salary of R1.8-million a year.

He said the husband, who earns just over R1-million a year, was interviewed by a panel who worked under his wife.

Hadebe asked why BYD was awarded the electric bus tender when it had failed to deliver a single bus to date.

He further alleged that city officials met company representatives in China. The parties also met in Whitehead's boardroom before the tender was advertised.

"There are allegations here ... that this company [was privy] to information in 2015 ... city officials went to China, met with this company. This company came to South Africa, they had dinner [and] met at your boardroom," Hadebe put it to Whitehead.

He even claimed that the company wrote the specifications for the tender, quoting from an email that forms part of his "dossier".

But Whitehead said his information was seriously misleading. She said the company was on track to deliver the buses but was still awaiting SABS approval.

The visit to China had been part of an investigation. They had travelled to other countries to look at other options. "An analysis and a detailed feasibility study was done before the specifications were determined."

"I take exception to where you are getting this information. Yes, I had meetings with BYD. So did the director of trade and investment, who facilitated those meetings, with an American company, the Italian company, with Volvo, with Scania," Whitehead responded.