A former MM of a district municipality in the province was arrested by the Hawks' serious organised crime unit on Saturday 17 September 2022, for the alleged irregular awarding of a tender to a service provider who allegedly did not even do the work. The suspect, who will be named after his court appearance at the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court, will be facing charges of fraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). According to a source in the upper echelons, the manager was arrested over the weekend in Makapanstad and detained at the Rustenburg Police Station for his first court appearance.

The former manager in question is said to have gone against the advice of municipal officials who advised him not to award a tender to the service provider but their calls seemingly fell on deaf ears. These officials who advised him, are said to have conducted screening on tender documents received from another North West municipality and found that the appointment of the company in this particular municipality was not in accordance with the terms of the public procurement process.

The suspect was also advised that the company did not qualify to do the required services but he allegedly defied the advice and instructed that the company must be appointed and vowed to motivate the appointment at the council sitting. 

It’s alleged that the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), Tsakani Maluleke, during the audit processes found that the company was irregularly appointed by the municipality and the municipality could not justify the appointment. Furthermore, there was no proof that the service was rendered. Maluleke then recommended that the unlawful conduct by the municipal manager should be reported to the law enforcement agency for investigation. In June this year, Maluleke said almost half (43%) of the money spent by North West municipalities was spent irregularly.

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She also announced that all 22 North West municipalities have failed to obtain a clean audit.

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OFM News previously reported that a criminal case against a former Mahikeng Municipal Manager, Thabo Isaac Mokoena, who was arrested for his role in the illegal investment of R92 million with the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank, was postponement in August and is set to resume in November 2022.

ALSO READ: #VBSMutualBank: Matter postponed yet again

He is out on R50 000 bail. The North West’s National Prosecution Authority’s (NPA) spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, previously told OFM News that “Mokoena’s court appearance is related to charges of contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), as well as the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA).

These charges are linked to over R92 million the municipality invested in the VBS Mutual Bank, from August until December 2017, under his leadership as the accounting officer of the municipality. In terms of the MFMA, this investment was irregular and prohibited. Mokoena is also alleged to have received gratification in the form of credit facilities, to purchase two expensive vehicles and a house in Klerksdorp, cumulatively amounting to more than R1,2 million. Preliminary investigations by the Hawks revealed that of the R92 million that was irregularly invested with VBS Mutual Bank, only R7 million was paid back to the Mahikeng Local Municipality.

OFM News previously reported that the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Cooperative Governance at the North West Provincial Legislature, Aaron Motswana, said that municipalities in the province are not complying with the legislation which governs them and are also battling with issues such as irregular expenditure, amongst others.

“There is a high level of ill-discipline with people being suspended left, right and centre without following due processes. There is also the appointment of senior managers as directors without proper procedures. We wanted to know how the department was going to intervene and react to non-compliance, and how the department was going to handle issues such as revenue enhancement, Motswana added.

ALSO READ: NW portfolio committee excited about turnaround plan for municipalities

OFM News