SCA rules OR Tambo abuse report is valid

THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld an appeal against an Mthatha High Court judgment setting aside a national Treasury investigation into financial abuse by O R Tambo district municipality.

This means the

damning

treasury report – which confirmed a 2013 Daily Dispatch exposé – stands and must be implemented.

It was reported in January 2013 that the office of then O R Tambo executive mayor Dingaan Myolwa chalked up more than R500 000 in luxury car hire costs over just two months, including hire, accident damage and late return fees. The Treasury investigation which followed as a result of the exposé, found the accounting officers to be in contravention of their fiduciary responsibilities.

It said there was no administrative accountability by the office of the executive mayor to the office of the municipal manager.

It found the executive mayor’s office had failed to adhere to good financial management, that vehicles were not properly maintained, accounted for and safeguarded in contravention of the Municipal Management Finance Act.

It found certain officials were grossly negligent and singled out mayoral bodyguard Pumlani Kubukeli who, while driving the cars over seven months, incurred more than R1-million in costs that included damage to vehicles. The report concluded the cost for the damage to all the vehicles should be recovered from Kubukeli.

The council adopted the report and its recommendations in June 2013 and mandated the municipal manager to implement the recommendations within 30 days

But Kubukeli appealed, saying he received no notice of the request of the treasury team to avail himself for an interview and had therefore never been consulted. He appealed to the Mthatha High Court to declare the treasury investigation unlawful and to set aside the report, and was successful.

The Treasury in turn took matter on appeal to the SCA.

The SCA on Wednesday found the investigation, report and recommendations of the national Treasury, even without the participation of Kubukeli, to have been founded on reason and were not

the arbitrary or irrational. Acing SCA Judge Ian van der Merwe said the treasury was in no way to blame for the absence of those it had sought to interview.

The request by treasury that they attend the interviews did not constitute a recognition of their right to be heard, but was rather intended to assist the treasury to achieve its purpose.

“The national treasury exercised the public power to investigate any system of financial management and internal control of the municipality and to recommend improvements, with the object of securing sound and sustainable management of the fiscal and financial affairs of the municipality.”

SCA Judge President Lex Mpati and judges Nonkosi Mhlantla, Steven Majiedt and Halima Saldulker agreed.