Allegations of non-payment – The municipality responds
"They maintain that the quality of the original samples that Gugu showed them was not up to scratch and that the union members felt that a better quality and more expensive uniform was required as they surely could not be expected to settle for inferior quality."
ABAQULUSI Municipality recently responded to an article which was published in last week’s edition of the Vryheid Herald, which brought to light an issue of non-payment and wasteful expenditure.
In the article, it was stated that they had failed to make a full payment for some rather pricey uniforms which had been ordered from business owner, Gugu Maphalala, last year. Gugu eventually took legal action against the municipality after several attempts to get her money proved futile.
According to the municipality, who eventually responded to our request for comment after we had gone to print, they cannot take full responsibility for the events which have led up to the current legal action from Mrs Maphalala. AbaQulusi Municipality feels that Gugu is partly to blame for the predicament in which they now find themselves.
They maintain that the quality of the original samples that Gugu showed them was not up to scratch and that the union members felt that a better quality and more expensive uniform was required as they surely could not be expected to settle for inferior quality.
The article also alleged that the Quantum busload of union members who travelled to Durban to “check if the uniforms were ready” were booked into a hotel in Umhlanga, which we were left to speculate, was paid for by the municipality. According to the AbaQulusi Municipality Media Liaison, Arnold Ramodibe, this was not the case. According to Mr Ramodibe, based on the information he has received as Media Liaison, the accommodation arrangements were made by the CFO, Farouk Mohammed, who allegedly picked up the tab from his own pocket.
