A City of Cape Town disciplinary committee, composed of 50% DA members, has recommended that Zahid Badroodien be issued with a final written warning for the tampering with electricity meters at his property in Rylands.
The committee recommended that Badroodien be found guilty of contravening the code of conduct and that he failed to act in the best interests of the City.
Badroodien was Mayco member for Water and Sanitation until he voluntarily stood down after allegations of electricity meter tampering surfaced in 2022.
He was charged with gross misconduct, breaching the City’s electricity supply by-law and the code of conduct for councillors.
A disciplinary hearing, which sat for four days in October, November, January and March, could not find that Badroodien was personally responsible for the tampering or was aware of the issue.
However, the committee was of the view that, as the registered owner of the property, Badroodien should have been more diligent in managing his responsibilities.
EFF councillor Nosipho Makamba-Botya condemned the “shocking sanction” as a “slap on the wrist” and insisted that Badroodien should be fired.
She also accused the City of double standards: “Malusi Booi (axed as Mayco member for Human Settlements) was fired on the basis of an allegation.
“Badroodien was found guilty of a charge by the committee.
“Black people have no future in the DA.”
The chairperson of the disciplinary committee, and former deputy mayor, Ian Neilson, said mitigating factors were taken into consideration when issuing the sanction.
These included the fact that Badroodien was “not aware” of the tampering although it was “clear that there was fraud”.
The speaker, Felicity Purchase, will inform the MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell, of the findings and sanction within 14 days.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za