AN investigation is underway at Mtubatuba Municipality following the suspension of Municipal Manager Siyabonga Ntuli on Monday. Allegations of financial mismanagement will be thoroughly investigated over the next two weeks.
The municipality’s Administrator, Bamba Ndwandwe, confirmed allegations include Ntuli paying striking municipal workers when the ‘no work, no pay’ policy should have been followed.
Further allegations include his inability to produce a legally valid valuation roll which, had the provincial cabinet not intervened, would have lost Mtubatuba Municipality an astounding R25-million.
The news of Ntuli’s suspension comes after a year of turmoil in Mtubatuba.
Ndwandwe expects to receive the investigator’s report in the next two weeks. If the allegations against Ntuli hold, a prosecutor will be appointed and Ntuli will have to defend himself in court.
The outcome of that will see the prosecutor deciding Ntuli’s future in local government.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on COGTA (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs), George Mari, welcomed the suspension, especially if the investigation will look into suspected tender fraud.
According to Mari, COGTA MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube confirmed earlier this year that Ntuli was one of five KZN Municipal Managers earning an annual salary of R900 000 while the municipality was under provincial administration.
‘That he continues to be paid in full while suspended is very good reason to fast-track the enquiry,’ said Mari.
