Endumeni Municipality is once again facing intense scrutiny, with officials from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) today addressing councillors, following reports of fruitless and wasteful expenditure and tender fraud as exposed by the Auditor General’s report as reported in the Courier.

COGTA MEC Buthelezi yesterday told a press conference that section 106 had been implemented at uThukela District and Endumeni Local Municipality.

A special council meeting was convened today to receive the COGTA report, but the meeting went into committee shortly after it was opened by Speaker Nsibande.

A COGTA official said while the decision was the Speaker’s, the report would ‘contain sensitive information’ and asked that senior managers and the public gallery be cleared. A junior clerk was allowed to stay to scribe.
Speaker Nsibande cleared the gallery of the media and the public to which Willie Steenberg of the Endumeni Residents’ Association, who was present, strongly objected.

“COGTA was here to clean up Endumeni of corruption. We have read about it in the Courier, yet we cannot see the results.”
Municipal Manager Ntombela and all managers left the chamber. More news on the COGTA report will be published when it becomes available.

The COGTA report comes amid the Auditor General giving the Council a disclaimer report. Last year, the Endumeni Residents Association laid charges against the municipality after the continuous poor audits which the prosecuting authority declined to act on.

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