Over R18m disappears from Sekhukhune district municipality accounts

The net is about to close on thieves masquerading as diligent municipal officials at the Sekhukhune district municipality in Limpopo. The district has recently lost over R18 million after funds disappeared from municipal accounts.

In all instances, the council referred to the mysterious disappearances of the money as either typing or accounting errors. Now, the district’s newly appointed mayor, Julia Mathebe, has decided to take action against corruption.

On Tuesday, the municipality revealed that Mathebe had appointed forensic investigators to find the thieves. During her state of the district address (Soda) held at the Masemola Stadium, outside Jane Furse, Mathebe told municipal officials, including councillors, speakers, chief whips and the mayors from Makhuduthamaga, Ephraim Mogale, Elias Motsoaledi and Fetakgomo Tubatse that the time for looting was over.

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“I just want to be clear on this one. I will not tolerate fraud, corruption and maladministration in my municipalities. I say this because crime is the biggest enemy of our people. It steals from the poor and stealing is a sin,” said Mathebe, otherwise known as Limpopo’s “Mama Action”.

Mathebe revealed that a recent council sitting at the Sekhukhune district municipal chambers in Groblersdal had granted her permission to institute forensic investigations into the millions that had gone missing. Mathebe said her aim was to put behind bars all corrupt individuals who stole taxpayers’ money.

Council, according to Mathebe, has given the forensic investigations only six months to wrap up their investigation. Once done, all those whose hands would be found to have been “in the cookie jar” will face the “harsh might of the law, and Sekhukhune will once more regain its vivid brand”, she said.

The Citizen can reveal that in 2018, R5.4 million allegedly disappeared from municipal accounts. The disappearance of the money happened at a time when the then mayor, Stan Ramaila, and Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha were away on a trip to China.

When investigated, it was discovered that the money was transferred to a series of wrong accounts. The following year, in 2019, a whopping R12 million went missing in the same way. The year after that, R2.2 million was paid into wrong accounts.

Meanwhile, Mathebe’s audit was criticised by the leader of the opposition, Seun Mogotsi, of the Bolsheviks Party.

“I wonder why the municipality would want to waste more money on appointing investigators, while there are free law enforcement agencies like the police. Is this a plan for another accounting error,” asked Mogotsi.