Mkhwebane orders Limpopo leaders to implement VBS remedial actions

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has ordered Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha and his cooperative governance, human settlement, and traditional affairs MEC Basikopo Makamu to implement remedial actions against officials and politicians involved in the illicit investment of millions of municipal funds into the beleaguered VBS Mutual Bank. 

Mkhwebane was in Limpopo, as part of her public stakeholder roadshow, to look into the province’s non-implementation of findings in the report compiled by her office on the VBS-related saga. 

Limpopo was one of the three provinces whose municipalities irregularly invested more than R1.5 billion in the controversial VBS Mutual Bank. Gauteng and the North West are the other provinces that invested in the bank.

According to Mkhwebane, Limpopo should have taken action against all the officials and politicians who were involved in the investment of the municipal money into VBS. But to her knowledge, not all officials were made to face the law. 

She said according to the remedial actions, recommended by her office, municipal managers were supposed to make sure that all officials who were involved were held to account. 

“The MEC is supposed to follow up and receive the quarterly report on how the money which was utilised will be recovered,” Mkhwebane said during the meeting on Wednesday.

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She said that the Limpopo division of her office (OPP) is currently dealing with more than 100 complaints, mainly related to maladministration.

“We have a total of 107 complaints that are still active and 14 of them relate to service delivery complaints, three relate to corruption and 88 to maladministration. These involve abuse of power, abuse of state resources and behaviour of a public servant,” said Mkhwebane.

“We expected them to submit a plan for the implementation of the remedial actions. We have been waiting for that plan since 2021 but all to naught. The MEC should also make sure the remedial actions are implemented and we want him to do exactly that,” she said. 

Mkhwebane also said her office would cross the country meeting up the MECs, premiers and the council speakers in an endeavour to make sure those implicated are made to face the music.

In response, Mathabatha said the provincial government has been unable to implement the remedial actions due to a lack of resources.

“We also want to implement the remedial action but it is just impossible to do so because of the availability of the resources. I want to commit that this government will always cooperate with your office. What is left is in the hands of the law enforcement authorities, both from the government and the ruling party,” he said. 

MEC Makamu has appealed to Mkhwebane to consult all stakeholders when preparing reports. He said his office was ready to work with Mkhwebane’s office and implement the remedial actions. 

National chairperson for the Bolsheviks Party in Limpopo, Seun Mogotji, said concerns raised by Mkhwebane were proof that both Mathabatha and Makamu were “snoring on the job” when it comes to VBS matters. 

“Mkhwebane has just proved what we always said. We always said Mathanatha is romancing crime and is scared to take action against members of his administration, both at the provincial and municipal level. He is shielding his own corrupt comrades at the expense of helpless brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers who lost their hard-earned savings in the bank. It is high time Mathabatha wakes up and smells the coffee,” said Mogotji.

Mogotji called on Mkhwebane to visit the Sekhukhune region where he said three municipalities lost over R300 million by investing in VBS.

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