DA exposes fraud in Technical Services Department

FLEET manager at AbaQulusi municipality’s Technical Services Department, Mbongiseni Kunene, has been charged with fraud by members of the Democratic Alliance.

It is alleged that Mr Kunene misused a rented car for two years, and had converted petrol cards meant for municipal services for his own private use.

According to a media release issued by DA councillor, Alta de Kock, the rented vehicle, which was hired through RIS-Fleet rental by AbaQulusi in 2015, had a tracker which showed that it was being used on weekends outside municipal boundaries.

“Based on the investigation that was done by the AbaQulusi financial department on the matter, the DA can confirm that the vehicle was rarely used for any municipal services. The investigation found that there were many discrepancies in the use of the vehicle, petrol cards and transaction slips that were obtained fraudulently. Despite these damning findings, the municipality has strenuously tried to sweep the matter under the carpet by refusing to bring it to council meetings,” said Cllr de Kock.

“Since Kunene is the son of the IFP ward 16 councillor, the DA is concerned that the council might be reluctant to take action for fear of offending one of its own. If that is the case, it is a blatant disregard of the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA) which governs the management of municipalities. The DA will not stand by while transparency and accountability is sacrificed to protect family ties.”

Going forward, the DA has submitted the following recommendations:

• A complete stop in the use of petrol cards.

• All cards issued to date by the municipality be investigated.

• An audit of all municipal vehicles.

• Fraud and corruption charges are pursued against those who are found guilty of misappropriating funds.

“The DA stands firm in defence of the principles of clean governance, robust processes that ensure transparency, accountability and efficient delivery of services. Any party or institution that violates these principles should be held accountable according to the law,” concluded Cllr de Kock.

The Corporate Fraud unit began its investigation at AbaQulusi’s Technical Services Department this week.

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