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A scoresheet for aspirant Johannesburg city managers obtained by Daily Maverick shows former incumbent Floyd Brink in pole position for a return. But Mayor Dada Morero has not approved his appointment.
The scoresheet shows Brink at No 1, Dr Msizi Myeza at No 2 (he is CEO of the Council for the Built Environment) and city COO Tshepo Makola at No 3 in the race. Morero’s favourite Helen Botes placed a distant No 7 after leaving the city and being re-employed as a consultant within a day.
The race also reveals deep fissures within the ANC in the city. If you look at the graphic, you will notice that mayoral committee member for finance Loyiso Masuku has signed off on the appointment. Masuku is running against Morero for ANC regional secretary in elections that have been delayed several times. She wants to be mayor, according to political sources who have spoken off the record.
Brink left the city in December 2024 after a judgment found his appointment invalid, following an application by the opposition DA.
Brink wants his job back. Political officials said his plan to fix the city had beaten other candidates by a country mile and that they had been impressed by his doctorate in public administration. Senior managers canvassed for sentiment said Makola would be a better candidate for the troubled city, which is in soft administration by the Presidency and by the bomb squad run by ANC veteran Snuki Zikalala.
A city manager is a crucial administrator for a metropolitan government. This incumbent is the senior bureaucrat to fix often dysfunctional financial, IT and facilities systems, which can leave citizens in the lurch. In Johannesburg, the metro needs a specifically talented bureaucrat because of its odd structure, where all services are delivered (or often not) by entities run by their own boards, such as Johannesburg Water, City Power, The Johannesburg Roads Agency and Pikitup.
Dr Ferrial Adam of the water advocacy organisation WaterCAN, which laid criminal charges against Brink when he was city manager, said, “Is our city really devoid of leadership? WaterCAN notes with concern the re-emergence of Floyd Brink as the leading candidate for city manager.
“If he was found unsuitable before, why is he now considered the best option at a time when Johannesburg urgently needs strong and credible leadership? With residents facing repeated water outages, collapsing infrastructure and failing services, the city cannot afford leadership clouded by controversy.
“Advancing such a candidate risks further eroding public trust in local government. They should be recycling water, not recycling bad managers.”
A city whistleblower alleged Brink had been a lynchpin in his previous employment of what the person called an administrative “syndicate” of senior managers who ran Johannesburg for extraction. He had used the city manager’s powerful prerogative to sign off on the purchase of CCTV and digital portable security devices worth an estimated R300-million, which a forensic investigation had found to be illegal, the whistleblower said.
Brink was cleared of wrongdoing – he said the deal had been concluded when he was off sick with Covid.
In 2013, Brink was arrested in a crackdown on pothole and road repair corruption when he worked as a senior manager in the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport. This featured Julius Malema and company’s first foray into enrichment when he was President of the ANC Youth League. Brink was subsequently acquitted. Attempts to get hold of Brink were not successful by the time of publication.
In a statement released on Tuesday, 2 September, the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) said it “would have serious concerns about the reappointment of Floyd Brink as the city manager for the City of Joburg”.
“Should Mr Brink be reappointed, it would directly contradict the core mission of the JCA to promote ethical leadership, accountability and good governance in the city. The JCA was formed to address the very issues that have characterised Brink’s tenure.”
The alliance says its concerns include:
- Brink’s previous appointment as city manager was declared unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid by the Gauteng high court. The City of Joburg even reappointed him a few days after the court ruling, an action the JCA would see as a blatant disregard of the rule of law.
- Brink has been implicated in a damning forensic report for alleged gross misconduct and dereliction of duty related to a R320-million CCTV contract. He was also accused of being uncooperative with investigators.
- Brink’s past performance as city manager would not inspire confidence. The city needs a city manager whose leadership, technical competency and integrity must be of the highest calibre. Anything beyond this will not get Joburg out of the decline that it has been in.
- The JCA has consistently called for the appointment of competent leadership through a transparent and ethical process. These proposals have been ignored by the city.
- With about 16 months to go to the next local elections, an incoming council may not consider Brink to be a suitable city manager. This could result in a substantial payout to bring in another city manager.
“The JCA will continue to campaign for an open and transparent process to appoint a city manager. This process should include various civil society representatives,” the alliance statement concluded.
Read the full article on the Daily Maverick here.