Councillor Edward Von Bodenstein of the DA Caucus in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, writes:
The 2017/18 forensic report which was commissioned by forensic company Comperio Consulting was tabled in council by the Public Accounts Committee(MPAC)the last week of October 2019. The report highlights areas of weakness leading to the loss of R872million inunauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure within the embattled Emfuleni Municipality. The money was spent on irregular contracts,including security and lease contracts. It is common cause that the acting municipal manager Oupa Nkoane, was also implicated in the forensic report, as such MPAC, inter alia recommended that “by virtue if the fact that the accounting officer is implicated by the report, the Executive Mayor as the political head having oversight on the municipal manager, must take the necessary steps by referring the matter to the disciplinary board in terms of Chapter 15 of the Financial Misconduct Part 1.
I now turn to the prescripts of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) versus the conduct of the municipal manager.
Chapter 8 of the MFMA part 1 state the following: Section 60 –
“The municipal manager of a municipality is the accounting officer of the municipality for the purpose of this Act, and, as accounting officer must:
(a) exercise the functions and powers assigned to an accounting officer in terms of this Act; and
(b) Provide guidance and advice on compliance with this Act to –
(i) the political structures, political office-bearers and officials of the municipality; and
(ii)any municipal entity under the sole or shared control of the municipality.
Section 61(1)The accounting officer of a municipality must –
(a) act with fidelity, honesty, itegrity and in the best interest if the municipality in managing it’s financial affairs;
(b) disclose to the municipal council and the mayor all material facts which are available to the accounting officer or reasonably discoverable,and which in any way might influence the decisions or actions of the council or the mayor; and
(c) seek, within the sphere of influence of the accounting officer, to prevent any prejudice to the financial interests if the municipality.”
Having looked at the stipulations of the Act, one is able to determine how critical the position of municipal manager as accounting officer is.
The DA submits that from the moment the forensic report was tabled in council, the mayor should have acted within the confines of his powers by suspending the municipal manager with immediate effect. However this was not to be the case as the mayor is micro-managed by the powers that be and dare not cross the “holy” line.
The DA will keep the pressure on, continually seeking justice to be done.
