The African National Congress ((ANC) caucus in Tshwane wants two former Democratic Alliance (DA) councilors to face fraud and corruption charges.
Johan Welmans and Ernst Botha are accused of continuing to earn a salary and tampering with the council’s activities although they have resigned and no longer live in Gauteng.
The ANC has since laid criminal charges against them at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria.
The party says it has received evidence indicating that they been earning salaries since last year without doing council work.
It says Botha has emigrated to New Zealand, while Welmans now lives on the West Coast in the Western Cape.
“Those councilors must be arrested and must appear in court. They must pay back the money to the city of Tshwane. It belongs to residents who pay rates and taxes. They fraudulently took it for themselves. They earned salaries that they did not deserve, they were not working. So they must follow the law and the constitution of South Africa. So we are calling for them to pay back the money of the people and face the music in the court,” says Dr. Kgoši Maepa, leader of ANC in the City of Tshwane Metro Council.
However, the DA has rejected the ANC’s allegations. “Councillor Ersnt Botha has taken a leave and has been approved according to the council’s process by the Chief Whip to take annual leave for a month. And we do not monitor where our councilors go to for their annual leave. But we did, however, receive a letter of intent to resign – with effect from the 28 February 2021. But with regard to councilor Welmans, he has been sick for quite a while. He has also applied for sick leave and that has also been approved, ” says DA’s Tshwane regional chairperson, Mpho Mehlape-Zimu.
