Two Gauteng municipalities, one being the West Rand District Municipality (WRDM), have significant sums of money still trapped in VBS Bank, the DA said in a statement.
Click here for more about VBS [https://www.vbsmutualbank.co.za/about-vbs].
According to Ashor Sarupen, MPL DA Gauteng spokesperson for Finance, “Despite the fact that her Finance Department runs an extensive municipal support programme at huge cost to the taxpayer, Gauteng Finance MEC Barbara Creecy has washed her hands of the fact that ANC municipalities in Gauteng illegally invested its finances into VBS bank.
“It was recently revealed in Parliament that two Gauteng municipalities, the WRDM as well as the Merafong Local Municipality, have significant sums of money still trapped in VBS bank. Merafong Local Municipality has R50 million still invested, while the WRDM has some R46 million still invested.
“It is unconscionable that the MEC refuses to intervene in the situation or hold officials and political office bearers to account. The flagrant violation of financial regulations for municipalities to benefit the bank that gave Zuma a home loan points to the possibility that ANC deployees in these municipalities either have close links to the former president’s network or are too incompetent to comply with law around managing and investing public money.
“In both written and oral questions in the Gauteng Legislature, Creecy has made extensive effort to deflect and swat away the VBS matter, referring the DA to National Treasury.
“The DA will be writing to the Chairperson of the Finance Committee in the Gauteng Legislature to summon officials from both provincial Treasury who oversee municipal finances, as well as finance officials from the West Rand District and Merafong Local Municipalities for hearings on this matter, so that there is accountability for their illegal and negligent actions.”
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