Hawks raid Collins Chabane Muni
A team from the Hawks raided the Collins Chabane Municipality at Malamulele on Thursday, 13 May to gather evidence in a tender fraud case amounting to R173 million.
LIMPOPO – The municipality is said to have awarded the contract without following the relevant supply chain management processes.
The tender was for the construction of the municipal offices in Malamulele.
Provincial Hawks Spokesperson, Capt Matimba Maluleke, said laptops and essential documents were seized during the raid as part of the ongoing investigation into the allegations.
EFF member, Dunani Baloyi, who is a member of the executive committee of the Collins Chabane Municipality, said his party welcomed the raid, and believed this was not simply a publicity stunt: “If there was wrongdoing, there must be consequences and someone must be held responsible”.
Baloyi promised to monitor the process. “Fighting corruption is one of the seven cardinal pillars of the EFF. The EFF will protect the public money by making sure that justice prevails. It is the duty of the municipality to spend their budget prudently on service delivery, not only to improve the lives of all residents, but to create a conducive environment to stimulate investment.”
DA Member of Parliament, Risham Maharaj, accused the municipality of acting with impunity, “while enriching themselves and their cronies at the expense of the taxpayer”. Maharaj welcomed the search-and-seizure operation conducted by the Hawks and said that it was encouraging to see that law enforcement was being proactive in investigating possible corrupt activities.
Maharaj added that any municipal officials found to be implicated should be arrested.
He said the municipality was clearly struggling to fulfill some of its strategic objectives, such as sound financial management and to improve governance and administration.
Several efforts to try and get comment from the Collins Chabane Municipality Communications Officer George Sithole, went unanswered.
