The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Thursday opened a case of corruption and maladministration against previous Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, several city officials and the African National Congress at the Pretoria central police station.
“The matter is related to the use of billboards around Tshwane. The billboards were booked by the City of Tshwane for advertisement of provincial government projects like Nthirisano. Towards the local government elections, the billboards were used by the ANC,” head of the EFF Tshwane councillor and regional chairperson Benjamin Disoloane said.
“We’re opening this case because we strongly believe that when the billboards were booked from private companies, we checked and found that the billboards had been booked by Tshwane. During the election period, those billboards had the face of Jacob Zuma all over them.”
Disoloane said his party also wanted to use the billboards at several points across the Pretoria CBD for the August 3, campaigning but because Tshwane had hired in advance, the opposition party had to abandon that channel.
“Financial resources of the city were fraudulently used to boost the electoral fortunes of the corrupt and useless ANC in their dismal bid to win the City again. Despite using the resources of the city to campaign the residents of Tshwane still rejected the corrupt ANC,” said Disoloane.
“The EFF in Tshwane will continue to uncover all the corruption, fraud and maladministration that took place in the previous administration and hold the current City administration accountable.”
Several EFF regional officials including Tshwane deputy chairperson Moafrika Mabongwana and councillor Obakeng Ramabodu accompanied Disoloane to the station to open the case.
Commenting on the EFF allegations, incumbent Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga’s spokesperson Matthew Gerstner said there was also other cases of corruption by the previous administration unearthed.
“We welcome the exposing of corruption committed by the previous Tshwane government, as we have been doing since our day one. The use of public money to boost the profiles of politicians around election time must end, and is now consigned to history in Tshwane with a new, clean government in the city,” said Gerstner.
“Mayor Msimanga is in possession of forensic reports that expose multi-million rand corruption in the previous government, and many more charges will soon be laid.”
South Africa Today – South Africa News
