Financial mismanagement allegations refuted

Umkhanyakude District Municipality refutes an allegation that surfaced on social media last Thursday, indicating R135-million was illegally diverted into an account to support an ANC faction in the far northern region.

The social media post, published on the Jozini uMkhanyakude Facebook page, accused municipal administrator Bamba Ndwandwe and the deputy financial officer Thulani Mabika, of illegally closing a municipal account and transferring the funds without the approval of the municipal manager, as required by the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA).

District municipality spokesperson, Mduduzi Dlamini has labelled the allegation ‘malicious’ and ‘baseless’.

‘We would like to categorically state that the amount has not moved out of the municipality’s bank accounts.

‘The money is meant for conditional government grants, such as the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG).

‘Its main purpose is to eradicate municipal infrastructure backlog in our poor communities, and to ensure the provision of basic services.

‘It was prudently shifted from the primary account to the liquidity fund account to safeguard it against use on operational activities outside the grant’s conditions (ring fencing).’

Dlamini said it should also be noted that in the 2019/20 account report to the municipal council, the Auditor-General raised liquidity concerns about the municipality using conditional grant funds for operational expenses, in contravention of the Division of Revenue Act.

‘It was for this reason that the decision was taken to ring fence R135-million,’ he continued.

‘We want to assure the community and stakeholders that we are hard at work to ensure basic services are delivered.’

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