ANC councillor 'living rent-free at home'

2012-11-27 14:10

(Picture: Sapa)

Johannesburg - A Johannesburg ANC councillor has been staying rent-free at a nurses' home after being forced to resign as a nurse by the Gauteng health department, the DA claimed on Tuesday.

Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom said Nokuthula Xaba had been staying rent-free at the home in Hillbrow for nine months.

"This was disclosed by Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo today in reply to my questions in the Gauteng legislature," he said in a statement.

"According to Papo, she occupies three rooms at the Hospital Street nurses' home, and has not paid the due monthly rent."

Gauteng health spokesperson Simon Zwane said he accepted that the MEC revealed the information about Xaba.

"If Jack Bloom said the MEC said that, then he did. He wouldn't have said that if the MEC didn't," he said.

Bloom said that as a result of his question, Xaba had been served 30 days notice of eviction and that measures would be taken to recover the rent.

He said Xaba was previously "ethically deficient" because she refused to resign from her position as a nurse when she was elected to the council in April last year.

She was forced by the department to resign as a nurse on March 1 this year.

"It is an utter disgrace that an elected representative lives rent free in state premises," Bloom said.

"This clearly contravenes the councillors' code of ethics, and the Democratic Alliance will lay a complaint with the Johannesburg council about her unethical conduct."

- SAPA