Mti still at work while appointment controversy continues

Cape Town - Linda Mti remains head of safety and security at Nelson Mandela Bay metro in spite of the DA's insistence that he should not be there because the procedure to appoint him was not followed properly.

"It [his appointment] was approved by council and it is binding," said metro spokesperson Kupido Baron.

Athol Trollip, DA provincial leader and mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay, has called for Mayor Danny Jordaan to suspend Mti until his appointment is regularised, and has accused Jordaan of slipping him in to the position.

According to the DA, his appointment was supposed to have been ratified by the MEC for Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs, Fikile Xasa, within 14 days of his appointment on May 9.

The opposition party, which hopes to wrest control of the metro from the majority African National Congress, has questioned Mti's appointment to that position, given his two drunk driving convictions and possibly being the subject of a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigation.

Xasa has indicated in the legislature that he had not received the documents relating to Mti's appointment yet although the metro said it had sent them to his office. Cogta spokesperson Mamnkeli Ngam said at the time that they had discovered that they had been sent by registered mail and were tracking them down.

The documents were located and the department is currently dealing with the matter.

Metro 'fortunate' to have Mti

But DA spokesperson in the province Kristoff Adelbert said the party felt that government agencies were rallying to protect Mti.

"Mti must be suspended immediately and repay all income he has earned," said Adelbert.

Mti, a head of security for the 2010 Soccer World Cup and a former intelligence official, was named in a Special Investigating Unit report for allegedly benefiting from a multi-million rand prisons contract while he was still a commissioner with correctional services.

On Sunday at a press conference Trollip demanded an answer from the NPA on why the investigation was taking so long.

But the metro itself has thrown its weight behind Mti, saying it is fortunate to have him.
"He is working," said Baron.

In the meantime, the metro has instituted an investigation into the circumstances of a photograph of Trollip helping douse a fire in Port Elizabeth at the weekend.

The metro said the city could not allow a situation where professional firemen and women could have been impeded during the execution of their duties.

But Trollip said he was not sorry for helping people.