SANDILE MOTHA
DESPITE 62 councillors in eThekwini municipality fingered in the corruption frenzy relating to a multimillion-rand Durban Solid Waste tender, they have not faced any internal disciplinary processes for their actions and remain on the metro’s payroll.
The implicated public representatives include ward and proportional representation councillors.
They are alleged to have received bribes from contractors doing business with the city.
The controversial waste management tender costing over R 300 million dates back to 2016 and is currently the subject of court.
It was apparently awarded to hand-picked politically linked contractors who most of them had no experience in waste management, staff or vehicles to successfully execute the work.
The Hawks Clean Audit Task Team with the aid of whistleblowers brought the end to the corruption frenzy leading to the arrest of senior politicians and staff in the metro.
The suspects include disgraced former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, city manager Bonga Nzuza and senior staffers in the municipal procurement and supply chain division.
Now the opposition parties in the metro have bemoaned the business as usual approach employed by the city in holding those implicated to account for their actions.
“When the new political leadership headed by Mxolisi Kaunda took over, the IFP took a stance that we would give him a chance to clean the rot. It has been a year now, but nothing has changed, the wheels of justice seems to be grinding very slowly. According to the city’s Integrity Investigation Unit they have completed their investigations and it was up to the political leadership to implement them and they have not been any movement in this regard,” said IFP caucus leader Mdu Nkosi on Wednesday.
He said together with other opposition parties they had planned a joint programme of action to ensure that the implicated councillors are suspended pending the investigations by the law enforcement agencies.
“This is the only way that we can rescue the metro from the political syndicate masquerading as champions of the poor,” added Nkosi.
The Democratic Alliance, the official opposition party in the metro said the disciplinary procedures of the implicated councillors is long overdue.
“The 62 councillors were named in court as having worked with Gumede. We have not heard any progress in the matter and this is the responsibility of the speaker’s office and the ethics committee,” explained Nicole Graham, DA eThekwini metro caucus leader.
Gumede together with 17 accused are expected back at the Durban Magistrate Court next month facing fraud and corruption allegations. All the accused are currently out on bail of different amounts. Gumede is accused among other things of giving instructions to Bid Specification Committee, Bid Evaluation Committee and the Bid Adjudication Committee on who should be awarded municipal contracts.
She has however denied the allegations and in her September court appearance her lawyers are expected to apply for permanent stay of prosecution citing political assassination among the reasons.
Msawakhe Mayisela, City spokesperson denied that the metro had not implemented consequence management or disciplinary action against the implicated parties.
“The City’s Audit Committee and the Integrity Unit must be afforded space to conduct it investigations. Once this has been completed and on the basis of their findings and recommendations, the municipal leadership will take appropriate steps,” said Mayisela.
(COMPILED BY INSIDE METROS STAFF)