ANC says Tshwane officials are corrupt and politicians get blamed for it

TheANCin Tshwane has accused city officials of running a corruption ring for which politicians are being unfairly blamed. “The corruption that has been happening is something that is done by officials alone and we think it’s time now that the ANC sees to it that we take the bull by the horns,” the party’s regional secretaryGeorge Matjilatold a media briefing on Tuesday, after a meeting of its Gauteng provincial task team on Monday. He said the ANC was not the only party in government in Tshwane and was not responsible for hiring most of the officials employed by the city.

He accused the chief financial officer of failing to submit annual financial statements, flouting the Municipal Finance Management Act, MFMA, overseeing ballooning unauthorised, irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure as well as a history of making unjustifiable demands and having unexplained wealth. Matjila also alleged the cancellation and manipulation of critical tenders, unauthorised movement of funds and “bizarre” security arrangements. He said councillor Lex Middleburg of the Republican Party had previously objected to the CFO’s appointment, citing revelations from theJohannesburg High Courtduring his divorce proceedings.

“His ex-wife demanded a monthly spousal allowance of R250 000, listing assets worth over R68 million. This CFO has a history of amassing unexplained wealth and demanding unsubstantiated salary increases,” Matjila said. “His presence is a clear risk, exposing the municipality to reputational damage and potential litigation from his past and future dealings.

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The city manager promised a report on questions posed to the CFO and a lifestyle audit, but this has vanished into thin air.” In the roads and transport sector, tenders were cancelled without explanation, leading directly to poor grant performance, while a security tender had contributed to irregular spending and had been inexplicably postponed for a full year, Matjila added, laying blame on the CFO’s office. Departments in the metro were being forced to deviate from planned projects due to the finance department’s poor performance, risking funds being returned to the national treasury. “Furthermore, the CFO is protected by unauthorised ‘bodyguards’ who provide static security in the council building — an arrangement not approved by council.

Who is the CFO afraid of and has he reported any threat to the [police]? We demand a full report from the city manager.” ANC regional spokesperson Joel Masilela ka Mahlangu told journalists that the party would act decisively against corruption in Tshwane.

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