Tshwane deputy executive mayor Eugene Modise’s future in the city council hangs in the balance over a security company he founded, which allegedly continues to conduct business with the city.
The DA has wielded the axe, fielding a no confidence motion against Modise, seeking to debate and consider his fitness to hold office.
The opposition party said it had lost confidence in Modise’s ability to serve the residents of Tshwane and maintain public trust.
The motion, which TimesLIVE has seen, is submitted in terms of section 18 of the city’s rules and orders bylaws as well as section 58 of the Municipal Structures Act, which states that the council has the authority to remove a mayor or deputy from office.
Previously, the Sunday Times reported that a security company founded by Modise, and responsible for guarding more than two-dozen public properties, has had its multimillion-rand contract extended — even as the public protector probes possible irregularities in the tender process.
Triotic Protection Services guards 25 sites across the city — including substations, sport facilities and water-treatment plants — amid questions about how the company was appointed.
After its three-year contract expired in February, Triotic saw its scope expanded and extended month by month, “pending the finalisation of a new tender, which is still undergoing probity”.
Modise, who also serves as finance member of the mayoral committee, is tipped to return as the ANC’s Tshwane chair at a regional elective conference later this month.
An investigation by the city found Modise may have continued to benefit financially from Triotic despite having resigned as a director more than two years ago.
The internal probe was launched by mayor Nasiphi Moya earlier this year, after the DA raised concerns about possible undue financial benefits enjoyed by Modise.
Triotic is in its fourth year of doing business with the city. The scope of its work has been extended with more sites, increasing its monthly earnings from the city.
The public protector’s office confirmed on Friday it was investigating the contract after DA finance spokesperson Jacqui Uys laid a complaint in March. Acting spokesperson Ndili Msoki said the probe was “ongoing”.
Uys told the Sunday Times she had approached the public protector’s office after being frustrated with how Moya handled the matter, as well as being concerned about the legal standing of the mayor’s probe.
“We went to the public protector because the mayor did not answer our questions about terms of reference, and we were concerned that the mayor was not treating this situation with the urgency and the seriousness it needed,” Uys said.
The DA in Tshwane first raised the Triotic issue in February, after establishing that the company’s address was the Mabopane residential home of Modise’s mother.
Uys said they had also established that the address on company registration records was a home owned by Modise, who had not reported to the council on whether he had sold his shareholding or donated it to someone.
A long-time employee of the company became the director of the company when Modise resigned in February 2023, when he became a councillor.
Uys said that during the ongoing audit process, the auditor-general had specifically raised concerns about Triotic’s appointment.
The service-level agreement — seen by the Sunday Times and entered into with the city in April 2022 — had Modise representing the company.
It stipulates that Triotic “shall notify the city, in writing, of any change in the shareholding or members or any change in [Triotic’s] subsidiary companies or holding”.
The city’s budget for security services for 2025/26 is R565.4m.
The motion is expected to be debated in council in two weeks’ time.
TimesLIVE
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