by Cllr Solomon Maila – DA Caucus Leader in Sekhukhune District Municipality
| Date: 19 February 2020 |
| Release: Immediate |
| The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Sekhukhune District Municipality will write to the Acting Municipal Manager (MM), Mpho Mofokeng, seeking an urgent meeting regarding the R269 million which was incurred by the municipality as unauthorized and irregular expenditure for the 2018/2019 financial year.
The DA can confirm that over R194 million of unauthorized expenditure was incurred by the municipality in the period between July 2018 and June 2019 due to fraud and tender irregularities.In some cases, contracts were awarded by the municipality to politically connected persons without due processes being followed. The municipality has on various occasions either overpaid contractors and suppliers or deposited millions of rands into wrong accounts. These so-called errors, which seem to be nothing else but deliberate acts of corruption, have cost the municipality well over R21 million since 2019 to date.In addition, over R74 million was incurred as irregular expenditure, mainly due to non-compliance with the Supply Chain Management Regulations. The DA will insist that steps be taken against all officials of the municipality implicated in the fraud and corruption. Furthermore, the DA will ensure that the unauthorized and irregular expenditure is referred to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) with a view to ensuring that every cent siphoned off from the municipality is recovered from the implicated officials. In some cases, contracts were awarded without being adjudicated.In other instances, contracts were awarded to bidders other than those recommended by the bid evaluation committee, without ratification by the Accounting Officer, as required by Regulation 29 (5)(b) of the Supply Chain Management Regulations, 2005 .According to the Auditor General’s report, the District Municipality overspent its annual budget for the 2018/2019 financial year by a staggering R194 million. The municipality has been plagued by unbridled corruption and crippling maladministration for far too long. The DA urges the Acting Municipal Manager to prioritise these internal investigations and hold officials accountable for the irregular and unauthorized expenditure. We will further demand that criminal charges be laid against the implicated officials in keeping with the dictates of Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), 2003 |
| Media Enquiries |
| Cllr Solomon Maila
DA Caucus Leader in Sekhukhune District Municipality |