Protector acts against council manager
SUSPENDED Nala municipality manager David Shongwe has been charged with fraud and corruption and will be forced to pay back the council R230 000 he used to build a wall at his home.
This was a recommendation by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela who yesterday made findings against Shongwe, blaming him and former mayor Mpai Mogorosi for running the troubled Free State municipality to the ground.
Madonsela said the allocation of public funds by Mogorosi to build a wall for Shongwe constituted maladministration.
Madonsela found that Shongwe, Mogorosi and the council also failed to ensure that the use of a government credit card for private expenditure by the speaker of the council, Nozililo Mashiya, was referred to the council for investigations in terms of the Municipal Financial Management Act.
In many instances, Mashiya was found not to have fulfilled her duties – resulting in major trust deficit.
The municipality, which had in its ranks officials who stole enormous amounts of money and were fired, falls under the Lwejweleputswa district municipality.
The problems in that municipality reached a point where national Treasury suspended funds in January before withdrawing this decision a month later.
This was after the municipality, now under the mana- gement of Chris Mokomela, pleaded it would turn things around.
Madonsela, who started investigations into Nala’s affairs in 2012 after receiving complaints of fraud and corruption from residents, said most of the systematic service delivery and maladministration complaints were substantiated.
Complaints of maladministration filed to Madonsela’s office by residents centred around the incomplete sewer plant and a dysfunctional bucket system.
Residents used the bucket system despite the municipality having paid contractors R100- million for flush toilets.
“The pipes from some of the toilets are not connected to any main system. The entire piping system has many defects.”
Madonsela said the Special Investigations Unit was roped in to deal with those contractors who had defrauded the council and failed to complete their work.
“Once concluded, the Asset Forfeiture Unit will ensure that the money is recovered.”
These were similar findings to that of KPMG, which gathered dust in Shongwe’s office and he failed to make it public.
Shongwe was suspended in January last year after a damning report compiled by audit firm KPMG.
Madonsela said her investigations could only confirm an amount of R2.8-million having been used for Shongwe ’ s disciplinary and not R3.9-million as had been alleged.