Dan Mdluli
Tshwane:President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration at a local municipality in Limpopo.
The president signed proclamation R180 of 2021 on 9 March 2021 authorizing the SIU to investigate transactions by the Mogalakwena Local Municipality that took place in 2016.
Jacques Smalle, Democratic Alliance (DA) Provincial Spokesperson for COGHSTA, said his party believed that long overdue investigation would confirm the party’s long standing view that there was a deliberate siphoning of public funds through corrupt activities that benefited the cabal from the governing party.
Smalle said in September 2019, the party requested the Minister of Cooperative Governance, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to investigate the R1.7 billion in irregular expenditure incurred by the Mogalakwena Local Municipality but that request was ignored with contempt.
“After the section 139(1)(b) administration instituted during December 2019 by COGHSTA did not bear any tangible results, the governing party’s provincial executive tried to save face by recalling mayor Andrina Matsimela, the speaker, chief whip and the entire executive committee of Mogalakwena municipality, with the disturbing instruction that Mayor Matsimela must be redeployed elsewhere,” explained Smalle.
Smalle added: “The DA calls on the SIU to expedite their investigation into this corrupt nest of cadres without fear or favour and to hold officials and politicians accountable for corruption and maladministration.”
He concluded that corruption not only brought down the once thriving Mogalakwena municipality but crippled it financially which severely impacted service delivery, especially to those living in rural areas.
