AbaQulusi Municipality acquires land in 2008 – Nobody knows anything about it
One of the main reasons that AbaQulusi received a qualified audit opinion was because the auditor general discovered that land had actually been transferred to the municipality in 2008, but still did not appear on the asset register.
The Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) items that AbaQulusi Municipality’s qualified audit opinion was based on, had to do with the Claveshay debacle in which the municipality was forced to pay more than R30 million more for land in Enyathi for a low cost housing project. The municipality had initially paid developers, Claveshay, R15 million for the land. R15 million more was paid when Claveshay disputed the price of the land, and roughly R30million had to be paid following court cases that were finally concluded last year.
The auditor general discovered that the land in question had actually been transferred to the municipality in 2008, but still did not appear on the asset register.
The other PPE item that the AG questioned was the housing development in Lakeside, where the low incomes houses built by the municipality were never transferred to the intended beneficiaries.
“The houses in Lakeside were invaded by illegal occupants. We are dealing with this and have engaged the office of the MEC as well as Human Settlements to try and resolve the issues and ensure that the title deeds are transferred to the right people in the proper way. The Lakeside home invaders, as well as the land in Enyathi, are the main reasons we were qualified. The fact that the land was transferred in 2008 was never brought to the council’s attention, nor was the MM informed,” said Cllr Sibiya. “We found out for the first time when the AG made us aware.”
In the sound clip below, mayor, Jerry Sibiya, explains why the municipality was unaware that it owned land in Enyathi since 2008:
