‘Wrong staff were arrested’

CITING COUNCIL GRAFT: PROVINCIAL AUDITOR-GENERAL IS NOW PROBING ALLEGATIONS

Issues include debt write-off, unprocedural handling of tenders, appointments.

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.