Council facing MEC’s deadline today?
More forensic investigations are underway in other struggling municipalities in the province and criminal cases will be laid against those found to have been involved in any wrongdoing.
COGTA MEC Nomsa Dube-Ncube and/or one of her representatives are expected at Wednesday’s Council meeting following months of turmoil. This culminated in Mayor Molotshwa of the IFP becoming Mayor, and the ANC taking the seats of Speaker and Deputy Mayor.
Political observers have told the Courier that ít is ‘widely expected that the MEC will put Endumeni under administration’ or take other measures to bring some stability to the municipality that sunk to new depths following the arrest of former Mayor, Richard Mbatha, who is accused of plotting against former Speaker, Bongiwe Mbatha. Municipal Manager, Siyabonga Ntuli, has been suspended by the new-look Council. Endumeni was also part of a forensic report – still to be made public – which fingered officials and at least one Councillor in corrupt activities.
It is not clear as to how much money was ferreted away.
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Boysie Gumede of the UDM has been very vocal in hoping to get the report made public and those who are named behind bars.
FC Bester of the Endumeni Residents Association has also asked that the report be made public. However, Cogta has said that releasing the report would compromise further SAPS investigations into charges of corruption and maladministration that have been laid at the Dundee Police Station.
Endumeni is not the only KwaZulu Natal’s municipality to face collapse because of fraud, corruption, and maladministration.
MEC Nomsa Dube-Ncube says three damning forensic reports at these various ailing municipalities in the province paint a shocking picture of looting on a grand scale, costing taxpayers millions.’
“Maladministration and corruption cripple service delivery in that the monies that are supposed to be going to services are diverted one way or the other,” she said.
“We’ve completed 14 investigations and there are still eight investigations underway,” said MEC Dube-Ncube.
“There’s quite a number of those investigations that we’ve got to table.
“That is why, to us, it’s very important that the NPA and the whole prosecution is also ready to take it from where we’ve left off.”
She said service delivery is severely hampered.
“Maladministration and corruption cripple service delivery in that the monies that are supposed to be going to services are diverted one way or the other,” she said.
More forensic investigations are underway in other struggling municipalities in the province and criminal cases will be laid against those found to have been involved in any wrongdoing.
So far, Cogta says it has recovered a total of R8-million and has fired some officials. At least one official implicated in the graft in Endumeni is on ‘sick leave’.
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