A CASE of fraud is being investigated against Mokgalakwena mayor Thalifi Mashamaite, for which he could serve five years in jail should he be found guilty, by the Hawks in Limpopo.
Hawks spokesperson, Paul Ramaloko, confirmed the investigation, saying he could not comment any further on the matter.
The investigation was launched after Mashamaite allegedly did not follow the Municipal Supply Chain Management Act and Municipal Finance Management Act by allegedly illegally appointing a new security company when the municipality was still under contract with a different security company.
The appointment letter with the subject “Your Company Appointment at Mogalakwena Municipality as Security” was written on December 13, 2013. The letter, which is personally signed by Mashamaite, informs the new service provider that they have been appointed to start work two days after the date of the letter. However, the letter does not reflect the duration of the appointment.
According to a source, the appointment forced municipal manager, William Kekana, to act in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act, which clearly states that payment for such an appointment amounts to irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the accounting officer must report the matter to the South African Police Service as well as other stakeholders, including treasury and the Auditor-General.
DA councillor in Mokopane, Beyers Smit, said Mashamaite had appointed a security company without following the correct procedure. “The mayor in a municipality like this is a ceremonial mayor, which means that he leads or chairs the executive committee. His responsibilities do not go beyond the implementation of the decisions taken by the executive committee collectively, but he (Mashamaite) seems to have given himself some unknown executive power,” Beyer said.
Kekana refused to comment on the matter.
Municipal spokesperson, Malesela Selokela, could not confirm the Hawks’ investigation against Mashamaite.
He did confirm that Mashamaite had appointed a security company, which was currently providing services to the municipality.
