The former mayor of J.B. Marks Local Municipality, Kgotso Khumalo, continues to earn a councillor’s salary despite a referral for disciplinary action.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa making the Special Investigating Unit ( SIU) report into Covid-19 procurement public on Tuesday, 25 January 2022. Khumalo was one of three political figures who had been referred for executive action by the SIU. However, the SIU was concerned that no action had been taken against him.
The SIU further probed procurement in the municipality and found that several service providers were overpaid for services. According to the unit, Khumalo facilitated a R1.2 million contract to the Potch-Tlokwe Chamber of Commerce. The invoice was alleged to relieve the distress caused by the national lockdown on the citizens of the J.B. Marks municipal area. However, the SIU discovered there was no evidence for the payment which was made in April 2020.
The Chamber, however, placed on record that no contract for catering for homeless people was ever awarded to the Potchefstroom Chamber of Commerce.
“The Chamber cannot comment on the regularity or validity of the payment in terms of the MFMA as it was not privy to the processes executed by the office of the Mayor before the funds were dispatched. The Chamber has given its full cooperation during the investigation by the SUI. We have provided both the Mayoral office and the SUI with a myriad of supporting documents tracing all funds from receipt of funds to the procurement of porridge and the thousands of signatures on hundreds of pages made by indigent families which received this porridge. This was done to the admitted satisfaction of the Mayoral office and the SIU. The Chamber is astonished that the report indicates that the SIU has appointed counsel to set aside the alleged contract granted as The Chamber is in possession of official documentation from the SIU dated 18 October 2021 that all action against The Chamber had been withdrawn,” the Potchefstroom Chamber of commerce said in a statement.
The SIU recommended that Khumalo face executive action from Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC Lena Miga. Khumalo resigned as mayor in May 2021. His decision to step aside was linked to the ANC’s step-aside resolution. Despite facing corruption charges, Khumalo remained on the payroll as a councillor.
The Herald asked the department for comment regarding the report but did not receive feedback by the time of publication.
