‘MEC, HOD are pathological liars’
THE SPEAKER of Thembelihle Municipality, Danny Jonas, has branded the MEC and HOD for the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta), as well as the chief director of co-operative governance, as being “pathological liars” for blaming him for plunging the municipality into disarray.
Thembelihle mayor Leonard Mckenna and Jonas believe that the ANC and the MEC for Coghsta, Bentley Vass, were orchestrating a “coup d'état” in an attempt to gain political control of the municipality.
Council has six opposition councillors and five ANC councillors, with an EFF mayor and a Siyathemba Community Movement Speaker - whose membership is currently in dispute.
Mckenna and Jonas stated that implicated high-ranking municipal officials, as well as ANC leaders, were doing everything possible to prevent damning findings contained in a forensic report from surfacing.
According to the findings of the report that was commissioned by National Treasury, criminal investigations should be pursued for “suspected fraudulent and corrupt” activities, along with irregular appointments, the manipulation of tenders to service providers who submitted inflated prices, irregular payments while no work was completed and the flouting of supply chain management processes.
Jonas was reinstated as a councillor in July 2022 after he obtained an urgent interdict to prevent his removal as a councillor.
The Northern Cape High Court granted the order against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Thembelihle Municipality and the Siyathemba Community Movement (SCM) following Jonas’s expulsion from the SCM.
Jonas believed that
Vass should be held in contempt of court for appointing an acting Speaker while he was still in office.
“The ANC is trying to wrestle control of the municipality but they will not succeed. My request to the MEC to dissolve the municipality was ignored.”
Jonas requested urgent intervention from Vass in February 2022 to restore political stability at the municipality.
Vass’s office had replied that they would not get involved in the internal matters at Thembelihle Municipality as it could have “legal implications”.
Jonas pointed out that the only time council meetings did not convene was when ANC councillors refused to attend.
Mckenna stated that the findings of the forensic audit were made available to all councillors in December 2022.
“Council took a resolution to hold all implicated officials accountable for various irregularities as well as serious financial misconduct. We requested National Treasury for an urgent forensic audit in July 2022 to investigate appointments of unqualified persons, irregular payments to service providers and the irregular claims of travel and subsistence allowances. Requests for Provincial Treasury to investigate these matters fell on deaf ears.”
Mckenna added that the implicated officials and politicians were doing everything in their power to prevent themselves from being exposed.
“The investigation uncovered wrongdoing relating to the R11.5 million tender awarded for the renovation of the stadium in Hopetown and an informal settlement electrification project in Hillside. The contractors were paid without any work being completed.”
He advised Vass on January 11 that disciplinary action should be taken against “disobedient and delinquent councillors” who regularly failed to attend meetings.
“Councillors were absent when the council meeting was called to appoint an acting municipal manager, CFO and corporate services manager as well as to deal with the forensic report from National Treasury.”
Mckenna stated that he requested the MEC to dissolve council, as the refusal of councillors to attend meetings was rendering council dysfunctional and was negatively affecting service delivery.
“This is not acceptable and is a terrible indictment on all of us. Yet another full council meeting collapsed on January 10 due to the failure to meet the quorum. If the ANC councillors had attended the council meeting, acting senior managers would have been appointed and we would not have been sitting in the predicament where salaries could not be paid.”
Mckenna pointed out that he had been stripped of his
mayoral powers and that the acting Speaker had been illegally appointed.
“Only the mayor and not an acting Speaker is authorised to sign a letter of appointment. The technical manager did not refuse to accept the position of acting municipal manager. The technical manager indicated to the illegal acting Speaker, in a letter dated February 1, that it would be inappropriate for him to accept the offer prior to the office of the mayor being consulted in relation to his appointment.
“It is evident that the acting Speaker and the Office of the MEC never intended to consult my office regarding the appointment of Stephen Marufu as an acting municipal manager. This is nothing more than an attempted political coup by the Office of the MEC and the ANC to hijack this municipality’s government, which they lost through their own poor governance.”
Mckenna indicated that the council had convened 11 council meetings between February and August last year.
He added that judgment had been reserved on both Jonas’s membership with the Siyathemba Community Movement as well as the application by the ANC to review the decision to reinstate Jonas as a councillor at Thembelihle Municipality.
“The opposition is united.
Yes, we have our differences but we have agreed to keep Jonas on as Speaker and myself as the mayor.”
Mckenna stated that he had requested the MEC for Coghsta, Provincial and National Treasury for the secondment of a chief financial officer (CFO) in July 2022.
The CFO was suspended on August 1, 2022 following allegations of misconduct that were committed when he was serving as the acting municipal manager.
“His office never bothered to respond,” Mckenna stated.
He added that Vass had terminated the services of the corporate services manager in 2019 as he did not have the requisite qualifications or experience.