DA asks Hawks to raid its municipal offices in George

Following the Hawks’ raid at the George Municipality on Monday morning, Jaco Londt (DA chairperson of the East Region) told the George Herald that it was the Democratic Alliance which had initiated this process following a high-level DA panel investigation into the situation in George in the Western Cape.

“This shows that we are serious about our brand of clean governance and that we are not afraid to act, even where it allegedly involves party members,” said Londt.

“We welcome the actions by the Hawks and now need to respect the process and allow the investigation to run its course.”

Members of the Hawks and public order police members carried several boxes out of the building, which were believed to contain documents and other items they confiscated.

No arrests have been made at this stage and no one has been charged.

The raid on the DA-run municipality came just two days before by-elections in Ward 18 in George.

Councillors, bystanders and members of the media take photos of the Hawks as the load boxes into a police vehicle.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation at SAPS, known as the Hawks, swooped on the George Municipality, George Herald reported earlier.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Philani Nkwalase confirmed the raid was part of an ongoing investigation and the search and seizure into alleged fraud and corruption related to irregular tender procurements and procedures.

He said no arrests had been made, but documents and electronic equipment were confiscated.

He said the staff of certain offices were assisting the Hawks investigators, but for the rest of the personnel it was business as usual.

Nkwalase was preparing a press release regarding the matter.

He would not be drawn on which departments or individuals were being investigated, but said arrests may follow.

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