Specialist court to handle MM civil case
Alleged fraudulent activities by Mtubatuba Municipality's former Municipal Manager are being thoroughly investigated and the civil case against him has moved to prosecution
FOLLOWING the suspension and subsequent resignation of former Mtubatuba Municipal Manager Siyabonga Ntuli, the civil case against him is proving to be a full time job for police officers who are sifting through and investigating each charge against him one-by-one.
Irregular expenditure, for which Ntuli is being investigated, amounts to R35-million and includes paying striking workers when the ‘no work, no pay’ policy should have been implemented. This alone amounts to almost R5-million.
Assigning municipal employees the wrong salary grades and failure to implement the voters roll in 2014 are also among the numerous charges against Ntuli.
While this amount is staggering, combined with the unauthorised expenditure also under investigation, the total amounts to R89 476 237.19.
The numerous charges against Ntuli also include security tender irregularities. After being awarded a security contract, a provider was allegedly asked to withdraw the application as the incorrect commencement date had been given.
According to the owner, the company was asked to withdraw the application on the grounds it would be re-awarded correctly. However, the contract was eventually awarded to another company.
The fraudulent training of traffic police officers is another charge for which Ntuli is being investigated. This involves members of the public purporting to be municipal employees who received the relevant training in Cape Town in 2010. A former Director of Community Services was also allegedly involved.
The civil case against Ntuli has now moved to prosecution and is being handled by the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Durban.
