Protector critical of late mayor’s conduct
MALADMINISTRATION and improper conduct by the Gamagara Local Municipality in the Northern Cape has been uncovered by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and a report was released yesterday.
The report was released a week after the mayor, Maria Diniza, died. The public protector investigated allegations of maladministration in the municipality after service delivery protests — demanding the resignation of the mayor — erupted there last year.
Among matters investigated was an irregular tender for the construction of 200 housing units that were left incomplete after the service provider was paid 83% of the project’s R11m budget.
Ms Madonsela expressed her condolences for Ms Diniza and stressed that her office only found out the mayor had died after the final report on the municipality was compiled. Systematic investigation by her office showed maladministration was evident in many cases and there was no clear policy on tender procurement and employment requirements.
Ms Madonsela said the municipality could have better monitored the housing project and stipulated a completion date for the project, which prevented the municipality from invoking the R1,600 per day penalty clause for failing to complete the project. “We were told that houses were supposed to be built that were left incomplete, some of them still at the level of foundation. This is true. After the service provider was paid, only R1.5m was left to complete the project and they can’t complete it now because the new service providers need more money,” Ms Madonsela said.
She said the municipality also failed to act promptly to address the illegal occupation of land near Olifantshoek, which made it difficult for Eskom to provide power to other areas. “The municipality must choose one of the following options: evict illegal occupants and allocate sites properly; resettle people by moving their dwellings within marked borders; or re-survey the land according to the current settlement and formalise it,” she said.
Public protector representative in the Northern Cape Botromia Sithole said the office would give a “reasonable” timeline by which remedial action should be taken by the municipality. “At the moment we have to give time due to the lack of policy and the remedial action will have to be monitored. We also need to be reasonable,” Mr Sithole said.
Ms Madonsela said the claims of maladministration, lack of service delivery and corruption against Ms Diniza would be handled sensitively, given her death.