The Collins Chabane Local Municipality in Malamulele in Limpopo will pay former municipal manager implicated in the VBS saga her salary until June following her resignation earlier in March.
Charlotte Ngobeni tendered her resignation three days before she made her first court appearance on charges of corruption and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act two weeks ago.
She allegedly approved the municipal’s deposit of R120 million to the defunct VBS bank.
Mayor Moses Maluleke says the four months’ salary to be paid is a settlement agreement.
“The issue of our MM [municipal manager] has been a long issue where we were bound to pay her because the courts were not hearing this matter. Among [issues] that was negotiated by our legal personnel which was employed by our council is an issue of settlement. It was agreed on that level that a settlement of just four months should arrive at and that was [what] we arrived at and council,” says Maluleke.
Ngobeni refused to comment on the record.
She, however, says she opted to resign because she was suspended for too long.
Meanwhile, EFF councillor in the Collins Chabane local municipality, Dunani Baloyi, says he is worried that the settlement seems like a reward.
“With [to] us it looks like [a] golden handshake. Because a person implicated in this kind of behaviour they are not supposed to get a golden handshake. This [is what] ANC-led government do. We are not surprised but we are happy that maybe this municipality will have direction. They must employ a new MM because there were a lot of financial implications when it comes to legal issues … this case has been dragging for a long,” explains Baloyi.
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