On July 7, the DA submitted a dossier of contraventions against the Ekurhuleni metro and Council to the MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Gauteng, Paul Mashatile, and the Director General of the National Treasury, Dondo Mogajane.
The move aims to highlight a range of violations where the metro acted in contravention of the Local Government: Systems Act 32 of 2000 and the Municipal Financial Management Act 56 of 2003 when it passed a draft by-law for the establishment of the Ekurhuleni Development Agency (EDA).
The DA believes that the EDA may have been established under false pretences and that it may be used by the ruling party as a vehicle to conduct irregular business transactions and syphon municipal resources, to the value of billions.
“We have requested an investigation into a number of unscrupulous legislative items dating as far back as 2015 that may have serious implications on the good financial standing of the metro, as well as the legitimacy of the council meeting proceedings, under which these items were approved,” said DA Leader in Ekurhuleni Phillip de Lange.
“It is immensely concerning that should these items be approved and implemented, they may create an avenue for corruption and maladministration.
“The dossier of evidence submitted substantiates our claims.
“We expect the Offices of MEC Mashitile and DG Mogajane to revert to us within 14 working days.
“Failure to respond within the legislated timeframe, will see the DA taking this matter to the National Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, and of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), David Douglas van Rooyen.”
