DA takes it step further and lays charges

DA MP Terri Stander has laid charges of corruption, fraud and the contravention of several municipal legislative Acts against current and former officials and councillors of the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (EMLM).

Among those listed in the affidavit are former EMLM mayor and current councillor Lindiwe Gunuza-Nkwentsha and current mayor Sisisi Tolashe and municipal manager (MM) Chris Magwangqana for the contravention of the country’s Constitution, the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Structures Act.

In an affidavit, which is in possession of The Rep, Stander accused Gunuza-Nkwentsha of using municipal money to pay legal charges related to a stocktheft case and claimed that accommodation payments were made by the municipality on behalf of Gunuza-Nkwentsha despite the fact that accommodation should form part of a councillor’s total cost-to-company package.

Stander also indicated it had been alleged that Gunuza-Nkwentsha had given the instruction to sign a settlement agreement to pay Milowo Trading Enterprise R21-million in a meeting in October last year.

“Conditional grants were misappropriated to pay salaries, for operating expenditure and creditors, which constitutes irregular expenditure. The failure to pay creditors like Eskom in the prescribed time frames has led to the increment of arrears. The fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by renting a mayoral vehicle for about R85 000 per month for the period January 2018 to date has cost the already bankrupt municipality money that could have been used to deliver services to the people.”

In March, the DA Enoch Mgijima constituency wrote to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Fikile Xasa, to place the municipality under administration and in June called on Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene to intervene in the affairs of the local authority.

The affidavit also made reference to 10 councillors who were made full-time without the concurrence of the Cogta MEC, and a council resolution earlier this year that the money owed by the councillors would be treated as irregular expenditure.

EMLM spokesman Fundile Feketshane said the municipality was not aware of any charges laid by the DA.

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