The annual general meetings of three City of Johannesburg entities have yet to take place.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Metrobus and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) have failed to hold their AGMs.
The JRA has been accused of governance failures and a cloud hangs over its IFP-appointed board chair.
The entities fall under the leadership of the two IFP members on the mayoral committee for housing and transport.
IFP Gauteng leader Bonginkosi Dlamini said last week the AGM did not take place because of a "political arrangement".
In 2017 the JRA faced upheaval when senior executives, MD Sean Phillips and head of infrastructure development Mpho Kau, resigned.
Former company secretary Karen Mills was suspended after making a protected disclosure to the city’s investigative unit, led by Shadrack Sibiya, before settling with the JRA.
Phillips alleged that board chairman Sipho Tshabalala, appointed under IFP leadership, had "bluntly" requested him not to award any tenders without his [Tshabalala’s] involvement.
Phillips also alleged that after he informed Tshabalala this was illegal, the chairman asked to be "informally" involved.
Red flags
Phillips raised red flags about Mills’s suspension and Tshabalala’s insistence on outsourcing the project management unit.
It has since come to light, in an investigation by amaBhungane, that after a contract for the rehabilitation of the M1 highway was terminated — following pressure from Phillips and Kau — Katho Civils took over the contract from White Hazy without it going out to tender. It was alleged that upfront payments were made to Khato Civils.
AGMs for the entities were set to take place on April 20, but transport MMC Nonhlanhla Makhuba said changes to the respective boards had to be made before they could be held.
She said after the most recent allegations about the road agency, the mayor did not want to make appointments that might be cancelled.
She said an investigation was expected to be completed soon. Makhuba said no allegations had been made about Joshco and Metrobus, but that the boards had not been finalised.
The law stipulates that the agencies have 60 days from April 20 to hold their AGMs.
Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has been accused by the ANC of turning a blind eye to corruption in the JRA because the IFP is a coalition partner.
Mashaba, however, said he was not given prima facie evidence of corruption when Phillips raised the issue.
When asked about the issues at the JRA on Wednesday after the state of the city address, Mashaba said he hoped a report would be completed by end-May "so we can deal with the challenges at the department".
EFF caucus leader in Johannesburg Musa Novela said his party would demand the allegations be presented in council, and corrective steps be taken against all those involved.
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