BOSA opens criminal case against Letaba Municipality

By Thapelo Molefe

Build One South Africa (BOSA) has laid criminal charges against the Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo following the alleged theft of R1.2 million in public funds by officials in the municipality’s licensing department.

BOSA Limpopo provincial representative Ngako Setjie confirmed on Thursday that the case was officially opened at the Modjadjiskloof Police Station. 

He added that the party would also report the matter to the Ad Hoc Committee on Appropriations in the National Assembly, calling for urgent parliamentary oversight and intervention.

The stolen funds were allegedly siphoned off between November 2021 and March 2023 from the Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) and never deposited into the municipality’s bank account. 

According to BOSA, the theft constituted a clear violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), which required municipalities to promptly bank all received revenue.

“However, in this case, municipal officials wilfully violated this directive, choosing instead to unlawfully enrich themselves,” said BOSA Limpopo leader Timothy Maluleke. 

In a statement, Maluleke accused the municipality of enabling corruption and attempting to cover it up. 

“This incident is not just about missing money, it represents the deepening rot in local governance, where criminality is met with silence and mismanagement is rewarded,” said Maluleke.

BOSA alleges that several officials implicated in the theft resigned before internal investigations were completed and were allowed to access their pension pay-outs. Others, who were suspended, have reportedly been reinstated.

Maluleke said this raised serious questions about the complicity of the municipal leadership in enabling corruption.

“Why would the municipal manager allow officials to walk away with full benefits without consequences?” he questioned.

The party is demanding the immediate prosecution of all implicated individuals, recovery of the stolen funds, the suspension of the municipal manager, a full financial audit of the municipality and protection for whistleblowers.