To clear J.B. Marks’s name and set the record straight about the R1 billion of irregular expenditure, the executive mayor, Kgotso Khumalo held a media briefing at the council chambers on Tuesday.
Khumalo says Scopa (the Standing Committee on Public Accounts) and the media created the false impression that R1 billion was incurred in the current financial year and that he and the speaker refused to account for that money.
He says the auditor-general’s annual financial statements for the 2016/2017 year of what was then NW405 showed that R696 million was incurred over a period of eight years. ‘We don’t know where the billion comes from, that is why it is a malicious lie and an attack on the institution,’ he said.
‘We can confirm that in 2013, the mayor of the municipality was the DA’s Prof. Annette Combrink. And in that 2013/2014 financial year, there were no major issues. The problematic issues happened between 2007 and 2014,’ he said.
He reiterated that there were red flags in terms of irregular expenditure due to unfilled senior management positions over the years. The municipality’s bid committee comprised four members instead of five. This committee correctly evaluated all tenders in line with the regulations, and tenders were awarded to the highest scorer. However, it was due to a technical deviation in the composition of the committee that the AG required disclosure of over R31 million as irregular. The projects were completed and service delivery rendered, however.’
He added that all these issues are currently being addressed and most of them have been resolved. These include the use of sole suppliers now being reported to the council as per the requirements of the supply chain regulations. Appointments have been made, via tender processes, to eliminate previous month-to-month contracts. The composition of the bid committee has been corrected and it now consists of five senior managers. The procurement is now done through the central database where tax matters are confirmed by National Treasury.
Controls have now been instituted to ensure that no payment is processed without all supporting evidence attached.
Khumalo also revealed that a task team comprising the municipality, Treasury, National and the AG’s office has been set up. This is part of a recovery plan to address the unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred over the past eight years
R1.7 million still being investigated
The mayor says Absa and the Hawks are still investigating the R1.7 million that was fraudulently syphoned from the municipal finance system. ‘We can also confirm that three employees are currently on suspension. However, the suspension should be seen only as a manner of allowing the investigations to proceed and never as prejudicial to the employees concerned. In the light of this, we will not comment further on the matter, pending the finalisation of the said investigations,’ he said.
