SANDILE MOTHA
THE OR Tambo District Municipality has been dragged before the portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to explain why it has not provided answers pertaining to corruption allegations, which had crippled service delivery.
The committee resolved last week that all office bearers in the municipality should submit written responses to questions relating municipal COVID-19 response plans.
The stance was taken after the municipal leadership were hauled before the committee in a three hour session to give insight on what was going on.
However, the committee felt that the verbal responses provided by the municipal leadership were wishy-washy and unconvincing.
“The committee felt that written responses will give members a holistic view on the extent of problems faced by the municipality. Furthermore, the committee expressed a concern over the R4.8 million door-to-door tender as the OR Tambo district residents refute such a campaign was undertaken and the lack of answers regarding the pre-payment of money for the provision of bulk water services while no work was done,” explained committee chairperson, Faith Muthambi.
Other concerns raised by the committee include the alleged flawed process followed by the council to suspend municipal manager, Owen Hlazo.
Hlazo maintains he was targeted after he rejected to authorise a R4.8 million payment to a company which was allegedly tasked with providing a public campaign to residents pertaining to COVID-19 outbreak.
The company is alleged to have been paid despite it failing to provide evidence of work that was done.
Other financial irregularities reported in the municipality include an alleged R170 million that was paid out to a bulk water service provider, but no work was ever done.
According to council speaker, Xolile Nkompela, the municipality had been proactive in rooting out corruption.
“We have been very proactive as the municipality and have open cases of corruption and fraud with police. Currently the Hawks are hard at work investigating the allegations. We hope the law enforcement can assist us in our attempts to recoup the money we also hope the culprits will face full might of the law,” said Nkompela.
He said Hlazo as the accounting officer is in a better position to shed more light as to what happened to the municipal funds.
Hlazo is currently facing charges of fraud and corruption brought by the municipality relating to millions of rands which were allegedly misappropriated.
Muthambi said the committee had also committed to visit the troubled municipality to have first-hand experience on the projects under question to ascertain the veracity of the information provided.
The committee will also be in conversation with the law enforcement agencies to provide them with progress report on the investigations.
The shenanigans playing out in the municipality take place in the aftermath of a grim picture painted by the 2018/19 municipal audit outcomes. According to the report titled Not much to go around, yet not the right hands at the till, measuring financial performance of municipalities-released recently by Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, OR Tambo district municipality recorded more than R1.4 billion in irregular expenditure.
The Eastern Cape was featured as one of the provinces that performed worst and glaringly lacking in sound financial controls.
(Compiled by Inside Metros staff)