This is according to the Municipal IQ – an intelligence service specialising in monitoring and the assessment of municipalities. The organisation raised its concerns over the massive investment of tax payer’s money - worth millions of rands - with the controversial VBS bank by at least 14 municipalities across the country.

So far, four North West municipalities have been found to have irregularly invested in the Bank. IQ’s Managing Director, Kevin Allan says not only has the fraudulent mismanagement of VBS compromised its deposit holders, but it will impact negatively on those municipalities that invested considerable sums.

In July, the Mahikeng local municipality said it had done nothing wrong to invest over R80 million with the troubled VBS Mutual Bank. Mahikeng invested about R85 million. Mahikeng used R25 million from its coffers and the other R60 million was the money national treasury paid to the municipality by mistake. Treasury was supposed to pay Mahikeng only R60 million, but R120 million was paid to the municipality.

Earlier the Moretele-, Madibeng- and Mahikeng local municipalities as well as Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, which invested with the bank, appeared before the Provincial Public Accounts Committee (Scopa) to account.

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