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The OR Tambo District Municipality has been accused of sitting on an investigation into R3.8 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure during the 2014-2015 financial year for seven months.
Thembalihle Xhangayi, a DA councillor at the beleaguered municipality, has since written a letter to the municipality’s mayor, Nomakhosazana Meth, demanding to know what had happened to the investigation.
According to Xhangayi, the investigation was supposed to focus on R2.2 billion in unauthorised expenditure, R1.6 billion in irregular expenditure and R24.2 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“By November 2016, an ad hoc committee that was established to investigate this expenditure had not yet started its investigation.
"Now, seven months later, the investigation has still not been conducted and there seems to be little hope of it ever happening,” said Xhangayi.
He said the expenditure was a violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 and called on the ANC-led council to be held accountable.
“We cannot sit back and allow those responsible to continue serving our municipality when they actually should be charged with corruption,” he said, adding that as a result, many growth opportunities had been squandered and communities had been denied life-changing services.
“The mayor must ensure that this investigation takes place as a matter of urgency. We will not rest until all financial malfeasance and corruption is appropriately dealt with,” he said.
Ayongezwa Lungisa, OR Tambo District Municipality spokesperson, confirmed that Mayor Meth had received an email from councillor Xhangayi.
However, he disputed that the investigation had stalled or that it had not happened at all.
He said the council received constant updates on the progress of the ad hoc committee on which Xhangayi also served.
He said the municipality would not get into detail on the work of the committee, to avoid compromising the investigation.
However, the district remained committed to getting to the bottom of all allegations, Lungisa said.
He admitted that the full investigation only started in April this year, and entailed intensive work as more than 10 000 transactions were under scrutiny.
The financial years under investigation include 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.
He said the ad hoc committee was meeting on July 24 and 25 to finalise the report.
The committee would present the report at the next council sitting.
Xhangayi said the committee had already missed the March 17 deadline to complete its work and report to council.
He also dismissed as not true Lungisa’s statement that the committee has been reporting on its progress.
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