DA faces R1m lawsuit

Cogta MEC seeks damages for corruption accusation after high court rules in her favour

THE DA and its KwaZulu-Natal leader, Zwakele Mncwango, have been slapped with a R1 million lawsuit by Nomusa Dube-Ncube, MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

According to papers filed at the Pietermaritzburg High Court, Mncwango had, as DA spokesperson, caused Dube-Ncube to “suffer damage to her good name and reputation as a leader in society committed to lawful governance”.

In June last year, Mncwango accused Dube-Ncube of corruption and called for Premier Willies Mchunu to suspend the MEC following alleged “damning evidence of corruption”.

The accusations were posted on the DA’s website, and were published in various newspapers.

The allegations related to the appointment of municipal managers in Nkandla and Mthonjaneni, which were both run by the IFP.

Mncwango had claimed that the managers’ appointments resulted in the awarding of tenders to Brand Partners, a company owned by Sibusiso Ncube, the MEC’s husband.

The company was appointed to provide communication services to the Nkandla municipality at a cost of R7.7m over 36 months.

At the time, Mncwango had said the appointment of Nkandla municipal manager Langelihle Jili – despite the MEC’s indication that the appointment was not in compliance with legislation for a number of reasons, including his lack of qualifications – was also to be investigated.

At Mthonjaneni, Philani Sibiya was appointed as city manager – and soon afterwards, a series of tenders worth R8.2m for communication and related services were awarded to the same company.

At the time, Dube-Ncube said the allegations were “nothing but a rapid repackaging of largely unchecked, second-hand material designed to serve the political interests of certain individuals”.

She had said the allegations were deliberately concocted to create an impression that there were mischievous dealings on her part which had facilitated the awarding of contracts at some municipalities.

According to the court papers, Dube-Ncube had, in her capacity as MEC, objected to the appointment of the managers and brought applications to have the appointments set aside as invalid.

Last month, the high court granted both applications in Dube-Ncube’s favour. In the papers, the MEC charges that Mncwango and the DA were aware or ought reasonably to have known that the municipalities fell outside of the provincial sphere of government, and that she was not responsible for municipal procurement, and that the allegations were false, “defamatory” and “injurious” to her.

The DA and Mncwango were called upon to unconditionally withdraw the statement and apologise for the defamatory allegations in writing on July 20, last year, and had refused to do so.

The MEC had suffered damages in the amount of R1m, her papers say.

The DA and Mncwango have 10 days in which to file responding papers indicating their intention, failing which Dube-Ncube sought judgement against them.

Hlanganani Gumbi, DA chief whip in the provincial legislature, said they were defending the lawsuit. He said it was a “ridiculous matter”, personal and not in the public interest.

He asked Dube-Ncube to assure the public that she would not use public money to fund her personal legal battles.

“The MEC has every right to proceed with this matter if she so wishes. However, the DA regards this litigation as purely in the MEC’s personal interests and not in the public interest.

“She must therefore use her own privately accumulated wealth and not that of the people of KZN for this lawsuit,” Gumbi said.