DA wants Mogalakwena Muni matters probed

The DA has written to Treasury MEC, Seaparo Sekoati, requesting him to institute an urgent forensic audit into the finances of Mogalakwena Municipality after it cumulatively incurred R1,117 billion in unauthorised expenditure for the past three financial years.
Provincial leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), Jacques Smalle said in a media release that the report of the Auditor-General for the 2017/18 financial year revealed that the municipality during the last three years incurred the second highest unauthorised expenditure nationally.
“In the 2017-2018 financial year alone, the municipality incurred R344 million in irregular expenditure, R117 million in unauthorised expenditure and R2,6 million in fruitless expenditure. In addition, the municipality paid R1,5 million towards Mayor Andrina Matsemela’s Mayoral Birthday Colour Run and further paid over R6 million to service providers that did not deliver any services,” Smalle claimed.
According to Smalle, this abuse of municipal funds is yet another clear example of how tax payers’ money is wasted by officials and politicians who have become immune to accountability. “The DA urges MEC Sekoati to establish a task team to probe the financial affairs of the municipality with immediate effect and further put measures in place to recoup the wasted money. The DA will further write to the portfolio committee chairperson for Cooperative Governance to summon Mayor Ma­tsimela and all Section 56 and 57 managers to appear before the committee to account for the unabated unauthorised expenditure,” Smalle concluded. Spokesperson for the municipality, Malesela Selokela said the figures in the DA’s media release are out of proportion. “The municipality’s total budget is not even R1 billion so how could we incur the over expenditure?” he asked.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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