An investigation into allegations of financial misconduct at the Delareyville-based Tswaing Local Municipality in the North West has recommended disciplinary action against the municipal manager and the Chief Financial Officer.
The investigations were conducted by a team of officials seconded by the MEC for the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs.
Tswaing Local Municipality was placed under administration in 2019 after allegations of political infighting, and failure by the municipality to provide services to the community emerged. This was coupled with allegations of corruption in the awarding of seven tenders and tender irregularities amounted to more than R10 million.
The provincial department of local government stepped in to investigate the municipality.
Spokesperson for the provincial department of local government Dineo Thapelo says,” The team has completed its work and it came up with recommendations. One of the recommendations is that council must constitute a disciplinary board that will look further into allegations of financial misconduct in that municipality.”
Services halted at Tswaing Local Municipality due to unpaid salaries:
The Tswaing Local municipal council was expected to convene in order to resolve issues on the implementation of the report. However, it seems councillors are divided on the matter. The newly elected mayor, Keolaotse Makalela, says he will however ensure the implementation of the report.
Makalela says: “If there is actually misconduct which has been committed by senior managers within the institution, we are obliged as council to institute a disciplinary action against them. Therefore as from today [30 June 2020] we intend to actually make sure that indeed those implicated are taken through the disciplinary processes.”
However, Makalela’s colleague, serving on the mayoral committee, Mbuyiselo Booi, has a different view.
Booi says, “The executive obligations of the council lies with the administrator who is in the municipality and we believe that as council we only deal with IDP and budget tabling and community participation. So we referred the matter back to the administrator that he must be the one who is dealing with these allegations that are from the office of the MEC.|
The African National Congress (ANC) provincial interim committee wants the recommendations to be implemented.
Co-ordinator for the interim committee Hlomane Chauke says, “If we had to fight corruption the ANC cannot sit back and allow people to do as they want as if there is no organisation. So if the ANC had to fight corruption it is the councillors of the ANC who must be in the forefront to fight corruption, so that is our position currently and we expect that that report must be implemented.”
The party has written to all its deployees in council to comply, failing which drastic action will be taken against them.
