Mystery of missing R150 000 at Endumeni Municipality

Questions are being asked as to how R150,000 was allegedly diverted from Endumeni Municipality’s bank account into a personal account.
The money was paid in by a businessman looking to clear his electricity bill. However, the money was never received by Endumeni and the businessman continued to receive alerts that his service bill was in arrears.
This prompted an investigation and the suspension of an official, whom the Courier understands has since been reinstated.
The theft was probed by the KZN Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs while doing an oversight of the 2021/22 audit outcomes of all municipalities within the Umzinyathi District.
KZN CoGTA Portfolio Committee chairperson Zinhle Cele said the committee was shocked to hear of the theft of municipal funds at Endumeni Municipality.
“CoGTA has called on all departments (municipalities) to develop plans towards clean audits across the board. This must be investigated.”
DA Cllr Naresh Gopie, chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) – whose remit is to exercise oversight to ensure good governance in the municipality – told the Courier that the incident took place in February last year, months before the new council came into power, following last November’s elections.
“The previous municipal manager openly charged an official in October 2021. Only later, a case was opened at the SAPS, but as far as I know, there has never been any feedback. So there is certainly no prima facia case against any official at this stage and the speculation continues. The possibilities as to what transpired are endless.”
Cllr Gopie added that, “Strangely, the payment was done into an ABSA account, whereas Endumeni’s (account) is at FNB, and the fraudulent account number is listed as a private one rather than a public one, as are all municipal accounts. Surely the person paying that money into such an account should have been more cautious? Personally, steps should be taken to investigate in whose name that ABSA Bank account was held.”
Residents’ Association demands answers
FC Bester of the Endumeni Residents’ Association expressed his ‘utter dismay at this theft’. “There should be better management controls in place to prevent this from happening. The question arises: How come there has never been any feedback? Is our hard-earned money that is paid to this municipality safe or is it a ‘free for all’ for all who work there? These are serious questions that need answering. Daily, I get calls from people complaining that their electricity has been cut for non-payment, but how true is it – maybe they have paid? An independent forensic investigation must be conducted at Endumeni.” He added that ‘disturbingly, we hear that Endumeni owes Eskom around R90 million and there appears to be no solution’.
Former mayor wants an investigation
Former Endumeni mayor and now ANC councillor Sduduzo Mdluli also condemned the theft, saying, “This has to be a thorough investigation and those responsible brought to book. As a municipality, we are entrusted to look after public money that must be used to better the lives of all in Endumeni. Theft like this is completely unacceptable.”