The Lekwa Local Municipality has denied all claims made by the FF Plus about the procurement report discussed at the 17th ordinary council meeting, held on January 29.

According to Lubabalo Majenge, spokesperson for the Lekwa Local Municipality (LLM), the statement released by the FF Plus distorts the facts in a report presented to the council by stating that the procurement report did not disclose the full details of these purchases.

Majenge explained that the six 6m x 75mm square tubing purchased at R17 859.50 included eight 6m x 25mm square tubing, seven 6m x 20mm square tubing, four 6m x 12mm round bars and six 9m IBR sheets.

However, only the six 6m x 75mm square tubing was listed in the report. He said the 24 x 500 ml water bottles were purchased at R132 per pack, despite the report description showing 24 x 500ml still water.

“This purchase covers 100 packs of 24 x 500ml water bottles,” he said.

According to Majenge, the catering order listed on the report for 50 sandwiches with butter, bacon, eggs, and lettuce was meant to reflect 150 sandwiches, juices, and energy booster packs, including fruit and an oats-based energy bar.

This would bring the total cost per person down to R175 per meal. Another portion of the report describes five HTH granules, 25kg, purchased at R36 363.

“The full order included five 25kg HTH granules at R1 330 each and 12x 25kg HTH tablets at R2 035 each,” explained Majenge.

The portion highlighting 15 wide plastic garden rakes for R15 500 actually also included 15 garden hand hoes with handles and a Ryobi lawnmower.

Some councillors believe that by not providing full and accurate details in this report, the LLM is avoiding accountability for negligence and actively deceiving councillors.

Section 171 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), Act 56 of 2003, states that the financial officer of a municipality commits an act of financial misconduct if he or she deliberately or negligently provides incorrect or misleading information in any document.

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According to Wilma Venter, FF Plus councillor, the report that is sent to the council must be accurate and contain all relevant information.

“The amounts listed in this response do not reflect what is in the report. If Lekwa is admitting that the report is inaccurate, they are blatantly admitting to purposefully misleading the council,” concluded Venter.

Clr Sello Tsotetsi, spokesperson for the Lekwa Community Forum (LCF), said it was a concern that municipal reports appeared to rely on copy-and-paste information in place of fact-based data.

“This undermines council oversight and masks the true extent of service delivery failures,” stated Tsotetsi.

The LCF calls for independent verification of all council reports, accountability, consequences for officials who provide inaccurate information to the council, and the adoption of transparent, factual and community-focused reporting.