Newcastle municipality labelled as a ‘corrupt mafia’
An official request has been made to the Communications Department of the Newcastle Municipality, that all documents pertaining to the bidding process surrounding the provision of screens for Madiba’s funeral be made available.
This past week, the Newcastle Municipality has been accused of being a “corrupt mafia” and using the funeral of Nelson Mandela as an opportunity to ‘loot people’s development money’.
A flyer was circulated, labelling the municipal manager, Kebone Masange, as a corrupt official, saying that it was ‘high time the municipality manager should account for the corruption he was accountable for including employing his girlfriends and relatives from his home country to protect himself from corrupt practices’.
Along with the flyer, two letters of appointment, awarding a bid to the amount of R994 500 were also circulated. According to the flyer, the same bid had been awarded to two different companies, Ilima Events and Management, and Insikelelo Trading and Projects. The letters were both dated December 13, 2013.
The bid was for the provision of big screens to air the funeral of Nelson Mandela live at five different venues in Newcastle. A direct purchase requisition showed that the amount was paid to Insikilelo, a company registered to a man in Umlazi. Research has shown that the company is currently in the de-registration process, which, according to the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission’s website, could mean one of the following;
A company or close corporation may be referred for de-registration under the following circumstances:
– Upon application by the company / close corporation itself;
– If annual returns are outstanding for more than two successive years, in which case the company or close corporation will be automatically referred by the system and then notified;
– If the Commission believes that the company or close corporation has been inactive for seven years or more.
“No money was ever given to Ilima Events and Management,” said the Mayor of Newcastle, Afzul Rehman. “We do not hide the fact that we have used Ilima in the past, but for this bid, it was not successful.”
According to Cllr Rehman, the paperwork that had been circulated to numerous newsrooms was deliberately misleading, and perhaps even forged.
The paperwork also included a memorandum addressed to the Budget and Treasury office from the municipal manager, motivating the reason why the supply chain management regulations were contravened, due to Mr Mandela’s imminent funeral. The memorandum however, named Ilima Events and Management as the preferred bidder.
The supply chain regulations state, that under special circumstances, such a bid will be allowed, providing that the Accounting Officer (municipal manager) can produce a written memorandum stating the reason for the deviation from municipal regulations.
Proof of payment provided by the same source that referred to the allegedly forged paperwork, confirmed that the monies were deposited into an account held by Insikilelo.
During the funeral, residents gathered at the venues in Newcastle to witness the burial of Madiba, only to be faced with blank screens, as three of the five screens did not function at all. In essence, the ratepayers of Newcastle have fallen victim to the cunning greed of politicians, and have paid almost R1-million for 5 big televisions that they did not need, as the funeral had been broadcast live on SABC.
An official request has been made to the Communications Department of the Newcastle Municipality, that all documents pertaining to the bidding process surrounding the provision of screens for Madiba’s funeral be made available. A full investigation will follow after these documents have been made available.
