A whistle-blower wrote to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) earlier this year and levelled several allegations against the AbaQulusi Local Municipality in KZN.

CoGTA has thus started its preliminary investigation into matters at the municipality.

One of the many allegations in the letter is that employees, hired to work as call centre agents for the municipality, got the job if they were related to councillors. The whistle-blower also alleges that some senior positions are occupied by people who were hired without following the proper procedures.

The whistle-blower also alleges in the letter that there are senior officials who are ‘misusing municipal funds to live lavish lifestyles’.

Responding to the allegations, AbaQulusi Municipality told Vryheid Herald: “We can confirm that we did receive the above-mentioned letter from KZN CoGTA on May 16, which was sent to the municipality as a notice in compliance with section 106(1)(a) of the Municipal Systems Act [32 of 2000]. The municipality has been given seven days to provide its response to CoGTA and we are currently in the process of compiling this response.

“Ordinarily, the municipality is not privy to when and how its employees purchase their personal properties and would only look into such matters if proper evidence has been put before it of any impropriety on the part of any employee.

“Such evidence would have been pursuant to an independent investigation, either conducted by the municipality or such other state organ with investigative powers. The municipality has not conducted any such investigation, as no such allegations have ever been brought to the attention of the municipality. Equally, the municipality has not been provided with any investigation report into such allegations which may have been conducted by another arm of government.”

Vryheid Herald will publish the outcome of the investigation once it has been released.