
No feedback yet on condemning fraud report against Endumneni Municipality
The investigation ordered by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) was completed by an independent auditing company in April last year, but was only presented to the council a year later.
The report recommends disciplinary action against two senior municipal officials accused of approving payments for mayoral security, totalling R3.5 million, before the contracts were properly approved.
A third official implicated in the report has since resigned.
Willie Steenberg of the Endumeni Residents Association said it was puzzling that Cogta waited a year before presenting the report and that this has 'fuelled suspicions'.
The ANC has called on CoGTA MEC Buthelezi to take steps against the municipality after council ignored a 21-day deadline, set by the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs, to respond to the recommendations made by the report.
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Mail & Guardian
14 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Don't eat alone — we also want to, whistleblowers allegedly told Polokwane municipal manager
Polokwane mayor John Mpe. (Polokwane Municipality) Polokwane mayor The 'fake' whistleblowers had contacted municipal manager Mail & Guardian . The mayor spoke after leaked documents surfaced on social media last week purporting to show that the Mpe alleged that one so-called whistleblower had called the city manager, saying: 'We are aware that it is your time to eat, we are just saying also allow us to eat.' 'Is that the language of a whistleblower and somebody who wants to fight corruption? If there's somebody who must benefit from our projects, it's our community,' Mpe said. 'You can see that this person might be even from the inside [the municipality]. This has made us realise that we are stopping the rot, hence they have been looking at what they can get from this person [Nemugumoni]. We need to fight corruption — not on the basis of who is benefiting.' Mpe said some former contractors with the municipality were angry that work previously done by them was now being insourced and were trying to create the impression of widespread corruption in the municipality as payback. He cited the example of the City of Polokwane taking over the maintenance of the Peter Mokaba Stadium, work which had been done by private contractors. The city had also cancelled contracts for fleet cards — credit cards used to manage expenses for municipal vehicles. 'Now it is our workers that are cleaning the stadium and the stadium is in good condition. We show tangible things that we have stopped. There were Polokwane fleet cards which were being managed by private contractors. The question is why would the municipality hire somebody to organise fleet cards for its own cars? Why can't they go to their banker?' 'The cards were from [one] bank while the municipality was banking with another bank. The municipality was paying that service provider R1.5 million monthly and we got rid of it. People were upset when we started saving R3.5 million from the fleet tender arrangements that were not proper.' In a letter dated 23 July and seen by the M&G , Limpopo MEC for the department of cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs Basikopo Makamu asked Mpe to provide a report within seven working days on the allegations which had surfaced on social media. The letter indicated that the Democratic Alliance had approached Makamu's office on the matter. A source told the M&G that a company owned by Nemugumoni's boyfriend had been paid over R56 million and that at least seven other companies owned by Zimbabweans were given preference over South African firms. Without naming the Zimbabwean-owned companies, the source said they were awarded contracts for construction, road works, bulk water services and consulting. Spreadsheets allegedly showing payments in relation to these companies have been making the rounds on social media. Mpe said, as mayor, he does not know who gets paid when, as that is an administrative process. He also questioned the credibility of the information, saying one spreadsheet showed payment for services rendered in 2026 while another was handwritten. 'We are in 2025 now,' he pointed out. 'This just shows it's not credible information. Why must we start an investigation on information that is not credible? Where there is credible information, we will have to investigate.' He said the company allegedly linked to Nemugumoni's boyfriend had been working in Polokwane, and various other municipalities, and it would be unfair to expect him as mayor to know who its owner was dating. Those alleging that the company was owned by Nemugumoni's boyfriend should provide proof, he added. 'We have over 2 000 employees and we have probably 100 of them in senior positions. How will I know who is having a boyfriend? How will I manage that part? If they have got [tangible] information about such a relationship, which would be a conflict of interest between the accounting officer and that particular person, they need to bring that information to us,' he said. 'Going into the personal life of somebody means I must [summon] the city manager and say, 'Who is your new boyfriend and what is happening in your life?' from time to time.' He also disputed the allegation that the municipality has preferred Zimbabwean-owned companies over South African ones. 'They have mentioned eight companies out of more than 150 companies that are doing business with the municipality. If people have got permanent residency and IDs in South Africa, can you stop them from doing business in South Africa on the basis that they were born somewhere in Malawi? You can't do that.' The source who spoke to the M&G said Mpe was facing another corruption matter with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the This, according to the source, was in order to check that companies doing business with the municipality, including that of Nemugumoni's boyfriend, were not giving kickbacks to Mpe via the foundation. However, in an affidavit dated 24 July 2025, which the M&G has seen, the Hawks in Limpopo withdrew an urgent application meant to be heard at the 'Based on the new information on the issue of the municipal manager, the Hawks had to withdraw the case so they could amend their charge sheet. The foundation got a sum of R8 million and they can't account for where it came from,' the source said. On Monday, ActionSA chairperson in Limpopo Victor Mothemela opened a corruption case against Mpe and the municipal manager, citing allegations that also surfaced on social media that R750 million was irregularly paid to companies whose owners have close ties to both of them. Build One South Africa Limpopo provincial leader Ngako Setji has also approached the Special Investigating Unit for forensic probes into the allegations. On Monday, Hawks spokesperson 'We will have a meeting today with all the relevant people to find out where this thing is coming from and what is happening,' Mbambo said. She added that the Hawks had never brought an application to court and would meet with the people said to have deposed the affidavit. 'We just saw that we have agreed to pay the R1.2 million in legal fees for withdrawing the case, so that is why we are saying we have to meet up with everybody relevant to say who authorised the things that are being said,' Mbambo said. Mpe said the issue had been drummed up by his detractors within his 'This is orchestrated from within the organisation. There are people who are within the ANC [but] are no longer with the ANC by their conduct and their actions, you can see.' Mpe acknowledged the need to fix governance in the municipality, which he said had a culture of impunity for wrongdoers. 'If we had bad intentions, why would we appoint people who have credible qualifications to fix some of our challenges, to fix the internal control deficiencies that we have?' he said. 'So, they then say, 'What can we get from him [Mpe] so that he stops these administrative reforms?' If we were not doing our work in Polokwane, how did we improve the audit outcome in the 2022-23 financial year and maintain those improvements over the past three years?'

IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Auditor-General raises concern over governance failings in northern KZN municipality
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cogta Thulasizwe Buthelezi called to act on Umkhanyakude District Municipality Image: Supplied The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), Tsakani Maluleke, formally instructed KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi to intervene in a northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality, citing serious governance and financial failings. The embattled uMkhanyakude District Municipality has come under renewed pressure after Cogta confirmed that the MEC had received formal correspondence from the Auditor-General requesting immediate intervention following the uMkhanyakude District Municipality's continued failure to address material irregularities. The AGSA's instruction is based on findings relating to the municipality's long-standing non-implementation of a credit and debt collection policy, as required under Section 62(1)(f)(ii) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). 'The failure of the municipality to implement its credit and debt collection policy for a number of years and to take reasonable steps to recover outstanding debt from consumers is likely to result in a material financial loss for the municipality,' said Maluleke. The AG further noted that 'the failure of the accounting officer to take appropriate actions to address the material irregularity led to a decision by the AGSA's Material Irregularity Committee to approve reporting in the audit report of the municipality.' The correspondence defines a material irregularity under the Public Audit Act as a contravention of legislation or breach of fiduciary duty that results in, or is likely to result in, financial loss or substantial harm to a public institution or the general public. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The MEC has until August 15 to submit a formal report to the AGSA on the steps being taken to address the matter. 'The department stated that the MEC will abide by the AG's request and comply with the given deadline,' a department spokesperson stated. The latest development comes in the wake of a standoff between MEC Buthelezi and uMkhanyakude municipal leadership earlier this month. On July 14, the MEC was forced to break locks and hold a meeting outside the municipal offices after the speaker and municipal manager allegedly blocked his access. During that visit, he announced that the municipality would be placed under administration in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution and introduced Bamba Ndwandwe as the appointed administrator. He also revealed that a Section 106 forensic investigation had been launched to probe allegations of corruption and maladministration. After that incident, the municipality responded by rejecting the intervention, accusing the MEC of undermining local democratic processes and acting without due consultation. 'The intervention infringes upon the constitutional rights of the council… and creates an impression that elected representatives are dysfunctional, which is not a fair reflection,' Speaker T.S. Mkhombo had said in a statement at the time. Mkhombo argued that uMkhanyakude had made strides in stabilising governance and finances since the end of a previous intervention in April. The municipality also warned of possible legal action, saying it was exploring a review under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA). However, with the AGSA's direct involvement now confirming governance and financial management lapses, the pressure on the municipality's leadership has intensified. 'MEC Buthelezi holds the AGSA's office in the highest regard and is committed to acting in the interest of the residents of the uMkhanyakude District,' Cogta said. 'These residents bear the brunt of failed service delivery due to a lack of governance, financial, and consequence management measures within the District.' The municipality had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication. THE MERCURY


eNCA
3 days ago
- eNCA
Drunk KZN taxi driver sought after causing accident and fleeing
EMPANGENI - KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma has vowed to take tough action against drunk and reckless drivers who flee accident scenes. This comes after a major crash on the R34 between Empangeni and Eshowe, where an allegedly heavily intoxicated taxi driver caused a collision and ran away. READ: SA's road carnage | Probe into two KZN accidents underway The minibus, carrying family members traveling from Empangeni to eMasangweni, reportedly tried to overtake a Ford Ranger before clipping its rear and forcing both vehicles off the road and down an embankment. Duma says the driver's actions amount to a hit-and-run and could have claimed the lives of up to fourteen passengers. He wants the suspect to face prosecution and a sentence of up to nine years in prison or a fine of R180,000. READ: Truck driver in the N3 deadly crash on the run This is the second case this month involving a drunk driver disappearing after a crash. Duma is urging the public in Empangeni and Eshowe to assist police with any information that could lead to the driver's arrest.