City manager fully backs McBride

Patrick Flusk, the Ekurhuleni city manager, says Robert McBride, the metro police chief, will remain in his job. Flusk says he will continue to stand by McBride.

Flusk was commenting on the news that McBride had been granted R1 000 bail after appearing in the Pretoria Regional Court today on three charges of drunken driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. This arose from an accident in which he was involved in Centurion last December.

Flusk said he and his colleagues had not yet seen the charges. While they had been aware that he was to appear in court, they had only learned of the charges through to the media.

Flusk was indifferent about the SA Municipal Workers' Union’s threats to consider industrial action if the Ekurhuleni metro failed to suspend McBride. “… They can consider it any time if they want to. They hardly work in any event as it is, but… they have to follow due process in doing it... Once we've got all the information, the mayor, myself and Mr McBride will get together, we will discuss this issue and we will see what best way to dealt with it. But until we've received all the information, considered all the facts, we are not able to say (what is the) way forward,” said Flusk.