Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The chief financial officer (CFO) of the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality was again barred from resuming his duties on Friday.
This despite being cleared of most of the charges that were levelled against him, which led to a disciplinary hearing instituted against him last year.
Andile Dyakala was charged for, among others, the extension of employment contracts of staff in political offices stemming from a written instruction from former mayor, Reverend Gift Moerane, and disparaging comments to the former municipal manager.
Speaking to The Citizen this week, Dyakala said he felt victimised for merely raising the red flag on alleged corruption at the troubled municipality.
“I was suspended on 16 March 2022 before the disciplinary hearing resumed in May of 2022.
“The municipality appointed Zola Majavu as the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing and there were five allegations which were converted to charges during my disciplinary hearing,” Dyakala said.
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Despite being ordered to resume his duties in August last year, Dyakala was barred from entering the municipality’s premises and has since been getting his monthly salary.
The matter was also taken to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which said Dyakala must return to work.
However, he could not resume his duties on Friday when he was turned away by security officials at Emfuleni.
This happens at a time when service delivery continues to suffer in the troubled Emfuleni Local Municipality.
The municipality in question has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, particularly when it comes to the worrying state of service delivery.
According to Dyakala, Majavu found him not guilty on the supply chain management (SCM) related charges on 25 August, but guilty for implementing an unlawful instruction from Moerane and was thus given a final written warning and instructed that he must resume duty immediately.
Dyakala explained when he arrived at his workplace, however, he was stopped by the former municipal manager who stated that the outcome of the disciplinary must be tabled at council.
READ MORE: Emfuleni municipality rocked by fresh corruption allegations
“In September 2022 council resolved that the outcome of hearing must be taken for review and it must be noted that the Labour Relations Act does allow the employer to take its on decisions for review.
“The lawyers of the municipality wrote to me instructing me that while they are taking the matter on review as per council resolution, I must remain suspended despite the fact that there was no council resolution that states I must remain suspended,” he said.
Dyakala said even though the disciplinary hearing has been concluded, he still remained suspended and received his salary while sitting at home.
In a letter written to then Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Lebogang Maile, Dyakala sought intervention, citing abuse of power by the municipal manager Lucky Leseane and the municipality.
He warned Maile that their actions would lead to fruitless and wasteful expenditure and further hemorrhaging the already precarious financial position of Emfuleni.
A few months earlier, Dyakala had written to a letter to the Auditor-General on 8 March 2022, alerting the office of possible fraud and corruption on the appointment of short-term insurance tender.
In the letter, which The Citizen is in possession of, Dyakala states on 24 December 2021, the bid adjudication committee (BAC) considered the tender for recommendation to the accounting officer for the appointment of Kunene Makopo Risk Solutions for short terms insurance.
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However, the validity period of the tender was extended and two bidders rejected the extension of the validity which in essence declared the tender non-existent and thus needed to be cancelled and re-advertised.
“On 28 December 2021, the BAC chaired by the acting CFO was forced by the municipal manager to sit and adjudicate the tender even though the tender expired and as the CFO in line with section 81(1) (b) of the MFMA which states I must advice the accounting officer on the exercise of powers and duties in terms of this Act, I duly advised the accounting officer that the tender has expired and must be cancelled.
“However on 31 December, the municipal manager issued a letter of appointment to Kunene Makopo Risk Solution after the report was recommended by the BAC and one of the bidders challenged Emfuleni’s decision through a successful urgent application at the Gauteng High Court,” said Dyakala.
In the appointment letter, it was stated that the monthly premium price would be R 2 137 842.09.
Kunene Makopo Risk Solution had issued an acceptance letter to the municipality, but what became strikingly glaring and of a great concern was that the conditions and pricing on the acceptance letter materially differed from recommendations of the BAC and from the appointment letter issued by Leseane on 31 December.
The acceptance letter issued by the company introduced a peculiar fee called “broker fee” for an amount of R 1 600 000 per month on top of the monthly premium of R 2 137 842.08.
This meant that the monthly premium including the sudden monthly “broker fee” would increase from R 2 137 842.09 per month as recommended by BAC to R 3 737 842.08 per month.
The acceptance letter also introduced amount of R 25 300 000 aggregate deductible which never recommended by bid evaluation committee and bid adjudication.
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The additional “broker fee” would have also cost the municipality R 57.6 million over a period of three years.
When approached for comment on the matter, Emfuleni mayoral spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni said the matter was sub-judice.
Meanwhile, Kingsol Chabalala from the Democratic Alliance (DA) claimed that the cash-strapped municipality has spent over R8 million on the CFO’s salary, including legal fees, while residents suffer due to collapsed service delivery.
“Since his suspension, the CFO has received R 1 614 747 for his salary and the municipality has additionally paid a total of R6 479 606.88 in legal fees.”
This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cogta, Mzi Khumalo, in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng provincial legislature, according to Chabalala.
The municipality paid Raskgoete Attorneys R 1 046 363.68, while Majavu, who chaired Dyakala’s disciplinary hearing, was paid R826 490.76.
Raphela Attorneys were paid R2 407 474.07 for disciplinary matters and R574 285.51 for legal opinions.
Approximately R2 075 562.07 was paid to the Labour Court and only R450 570.24 was from the CFO.
“It is worrying that the residents of Emfuleni continue to suffer from a lack of service delivery while millions are wasted on an individual sitting at home.
“This is an insult to the people of Emfuleni who endure potholes, sewer leakages, and uncollected refuse daily,” Chabalala added.
“This is the same municipality that has failed to spend R169 627 899 of the municipal infrastructure grant, yet it is faced with a financial crisis that has resulted in the collapse of service delivery.
Here are amounts returned to treasury in the past five financial years:
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