‘Wrong staff were arrested’

PROVINCIAL AUDITOR-GENERAL IS NOW PROBING ALLEGATIONS

Amonth-long protest over alleged corruption by officials in the Free State Fezile Dabi district municipality this week landed 19 employees in custody and subsequently in court on what appeared to be improperly formulated charges.

The employees, all members of the South African Municipal Workers Union, were rounded up in pre-dawn police raids on their homes.

Yesterday, they appeared in the Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of public violence, crimen injuria and intimidation. They were later released for police to take statements from them.

“The charges have been concocted because these workers held a peaceful protest against corruption at the municipality,” said Economic Freedom Fighters councillor Malefane Msimanga.

Central to the allegations, he said, was R6 million in unauthorised expenditure which the municipality spent in 2012 on the official funeral of Free State health MEC Fezi Ngubengcuka.

Msimanga said other concerns included the awarding of a three-year contract in January to Standard Bank to take charge of the municipality’s transactions “with an appointment letter issued while the adjudication process was still ongoing”.

Msimanga said: “Workers also do not recognise municipal manager Lindi Molibeli as proper procedures were not followed in her appointment. The wrong people have been arrested. Three months ago we opened a case with the Hawks in the Free State, but there has been no response.”

Calls to the Hawks were not answered yesterday.

The provincial office of the auditor-general is probing graft allegations at the municipality following a complaint referred by Msimanga two months ago.

Among concerns raised by auditor-general office official Odwa Duda this month were:

The write-off of debt incurred for the funeral did not comply with section 32(2) of the Municipal Finance Management Act as the municipal manager did not ensure compliance with all requirements. This misled the council into resolving in 2016 to write off the debt.

The accounting officer’s report was not subjected to section 32 committees for investigation.

R1.8 million paid by companies to the municipality could not be linked to them, giving rise to suspicion of money laundering.