Nepotism, corruption claims a smear, says Pappas
● uMngeni municipality mayor Chris Pappas underwent a baptism of fire immediately after he was announced as the DA’s candidate to be KwaZulu-Natal premier, with allegations that his ex-boyfriend’s nonprofit organisation (NPO) received municipal funding on his watch.
Even though DA KwaZulu-Natal chair Dean Macpherson dismissed the allegations as “high school gossip”, the public protector’s office has received a complaint from former DA leader and now ANC MPL Sizwe Mchunu accusing Pappas of nepotism and corruption.
Mchunu said Pappas’s former fiancé, JP Prinsloo, had received preferential treatment from uMngeni municipality in respect of funding for a tourism NPO of which he was chair. “The NPO chaired by JP Prinsloo has been given a R100,000 grant by uMngeni municipality, while the top-five tourism organisations operating within uMngeni received R10,000 each per month,” he said.
Mchunu further sought an investigation into a possibly corrupt tender allegedly given by the municipality to Prinsloo’s company for an uMngeni tourism festival.
Pappas said the allegations were political and had been made because the ANC feared losing control of KwaZulu-Natal. “It is worth questioning why these allegations were not raised when the information was initially ‘uncovered’. The timing of these accusations, following my announcement as a candidate, suggests a smear campaign,” he said.
The mayor said the memorandum of understanding between uMngeni Tourism and uMngeni municipality predated his tenure, and added that Prinsloo had resigned from the NPO in July. “Any potential conflicts of interest were reported to the municipal manager and the speaker of the council. These reports are publicly accessible and were submitted on April 1 2022, following Mr Prinsloo’s election,” he said.
Pappas said that, contrary to what had been claimed, uMngeni municipality supported other tourism NPOs and had provided financial assistance to Zulu Mpophomeni Tourism Experience and Notties Tourism for events, as well as monthly grants to all NPOs.
He said monthly tourism reports including expenditure details from tourism NPOs had been submitted to the economic development portfolio committee, where various political parties — including the DA, the ANC and the EFF — had unanimously accepted them.
Pappas further rubbished the “corrupt tender” allegation: “There have been no tourism-related tenders within uMngeni municipality, contradicting the allegation that [Prinsloo’s] company GSC has benefited from such tenders.”
He added that his relationship with Prinsloo had ended seven months ago, and that there was no conflict of interest.
Pappas said he believed the ANC was “clearly very scared of me”, and that this incident showed “this whole issue was politically orchestrated”.
He would “not be drawn into playing in the mud where they are used to playing”, and said he would not be deterred.
“I bring a new energy and life to politics in KZN. I am young, educated and experienced at the local and provincial levels. I have been in opposition and in government. I can communicate with different communities, and I have a track record of delivery.”
Pappas said that should he make it to the premiership, his first step would be to sort out the finances of the province. However, given that the DA was currently the thirdbiggest party in KwaZulu-Natal, he conceded an outright majority might not be realistic.
“Without money, we will not be able to invest in health, education and infrastructure. We need to rebuild our cities, towns and villages, and ensure that they are engine rooms of growth and job creation,” he said.
“We will work hard to get as close to 50% as possible. However, the reality is that no party will get 50%. Therefore, as the DA we must ensure that we get the most votes possible in order to form a central part of a new coalition for hope for KZN.”
Should there be the chance of a coalition for the DA, he said they would work with parties that shared a common vision based on agreed-upon core principles captured in the growing multiparty charter.
“The DA in KZN is well ahead [in] forging meaningful relationships. In particular, the DA and IFP have made a lot of progress in working together, even when there are tough discussions on the agenda.”
Ultimately, he believed government had become slow, unresponsive and disconnected, whereas it should be at the centre of community development. “I have learnt to make government more responsive, prioritise what is important to communities, and rebuild faith in the government as an instrument for delivery,” he said.