McBride’s legal bills cause a storm

By Anna Louw (www.iol.co.za)

An Ekurhuleni metro councillor has called for the municipality’s city manager to resign over Metro Police Chief Robert McBride’s legal costs.

The costs - allegedly amounting to R6,9-million, paid to Roshan Dehal, of Dehal Attorneys in Durban - are related to McBride’s drunk-driving case and, among other things, the disciplinary hearings of the three senior officers dubbed the “clean-up team” after his car accident in December 2006.

A storm erupted at a special Ekurhuleni metro council meeting in Germiston on Monday after a written request by Izak Berg, an independent councillor and chairperson of the Independent Ratepayers’ Association of SA, to mayor Duma Nkosi.

He called for the immediate suspension of city manager Patrick Flusk and chief financial officer Colin Pillay relating to the legal fees paid on behalf of Bride.

The mayor said he would not suspend them until he had received documents proving that the metro had spent R6,9-million on legal costs.

At the monthly council meeting on Thursday, Nkosi said he had received confirmation from Pillay that McBride’s legal fees, amounting to R578 149.61, had been paid to Dehal Attorneys.

On Monday he said a full report on McBride’s legal costs would be presented to the council once McBride’s case had been finalised.

Berg said he had proof that at least R1,3-million had been paid out for the drunk-driving case and R1,5-million for direct costs resulting from the crash.

“The council has been misled that it was merely R578 149.61,” Berg said.

“I will also provide you with detailed facts to show that the city manager has acted illegally and in contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the metro’s supply-chain management policy.”

According to Berg, Flusk appointed Dehal Attorneys to act as legal representative of the metro in various legal matters in August 2007, violating the delegation of powers to the city manager.

Berg stressed that the metro had an approved panel of attorneys and, although the recomposition of this panel had been advertised, a new panel was not compiled prior to the appointment of Dehal Attorneys.

“The appointment (of Dehal) was made without following past best practice by adhering to the metro’s policy of appointing legal representatives on the (metro’s) panel of attorneys,” Berg said.

The panel of attorneys was compiled though a competitive bid process adhering to criteria that the attorneys had to be registered with the appropriate law society of the Northern Provinces, which Berg claimed Dehal was not.

Flusk said Berg had been confused about the amounts involved, as Dehal Attorneys was already acting for the metro for two years prior to his appointment as city manager.

Berg said he would also be calling for the independent taxation of Dehal’s fees.

He added that he had been waiting since July 2007 for answers from the city manager relating to these costs, but had been ignored.

View George Serradinho's Profile      Subscribe via RSS