The FF Plus demands the dismissal of the municipal manager of the Rand West Local Municipality (Randfontein, Westonaria), Temba Goba, the Mayor, Brenda Mahuma, and the Speaker of the municipal council, Violet Mzondeki, based on the damning findings of the Senior Advocate William Mokhare after his investigation into alleged mismanagement and corruption at the Municipality.
Adv Mokhare conducted his investigation on instruction of the Gauteng Legislature.
Before the investigation was conducted, the FF Plus sent various official letters to the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile, requesting that the municipal manager and the Mayor of Rand West must be investigated for allegations of fruitless and wasteful expenditure, mismanagement, corruption and misconduct.
Adv Mokhare found, among other things, the following concerning the municipal manager and the Speaker of the Rand West Local Municipality:
1. The municipal manager fraudulently claimed that the criminal investigation The Hawks were conducting into allegations of corruption and the mismanagement of municipal funds against him was withdrawn when he knew, or it was reasonable to expect that he knew, that it was a false claim. It comes down to gross misconduct.
2. During his term of office, which commenced in July 2017, the municipal manager mismanaged the Municipality’s finances resulting in a loss of approximately R1,5 billion through his irregular appointment of service providers, late payments or non-payment to service providers, which accrued needless interest amounting to millions of rand, fraudulent appointments and fraudulent payment of service providers.
Although the municipal manager did not steal the R1,5 billion, he failed to perform his duties as accountable official by not complying with the relevant financial management legislation in dealing with the Municipality’s finances.
3. The municipal manager irregularly authorised the payment of an illegal immigrant from Zimbabwe’s salary in September and October 2020 even though he rendered no services to the Municipality due to the fact that he was detained and later deported by the Department of Home Affairs. Thus, the municipal manager committed gross misconduct.
4. The Speaker of the council, Violet Mzondeki, improperly interfered and prevented the municipal Committee on Public Accounts to submit a report to the council for consideration, despite the urgent need to address the problem of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The Speaker must be held accountable in terms of the code of conduct for councillors for undermining the council’s functioning.
The mismanagement of municipalities in Gauteng must not be tolerated and, thus, voters are encouraged to punish the ANC at the polls by standing up, standing together and sending a loud and clear message: the ANC’s destruction of municipalities must come to an end.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Amanda de Lange on FF Plus
