MIDDELBURG – Allegations of fraud, maladministration, and improper conduct have surfaced within the Steve Tshwete municipality. A letter, circulating on social media, purportedly from Acting MEC of CoGTA Speed Mashilo, instructs Municipal Manager Mandla Mnguni to provide a detailed report on various allegations involving employees, officials, and senior managers in the municipality.
These allegations include the misuse of petrol and credit cards in the office of the speaker, as well as inflated payments to attorneys providing services to the municipality. Mashilo accuses Mnguni of failing to take corrective actions or to develop a plan from council, the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC), and senior management to recover misused funds.
“Failing to provide a forensic investigation report regarding employees’ inflated salaries, tender irregularities, and irregularities related to local economic development (LED) projects,” stated Mashilo in the letter. The MEC ordered the municipal manager to provide these reports by 10 May 2024, along with reasons why further investigations should not be conducted.
It remains unclear whether the municipal manager has submitted the reports as instructed. However, it has been learned that a municipal employee, whose identity remains undisclosed, has been summoned to a disciplinary hearing scheduled for May, 27. This pertains to allegations of abusing petrol and credit cards allocated to the office of the speaker, resulting in charges of gross dishonesty, gross negligence, and bringing the speaker’s office into disrepute.
On April 17, the DA held an anti-corruption march to the Steve Tshwete headquarters, where they submitted a memorandum demanding expedited investigations into illegal land sales in Dennesig North and accountability for those involved. The party also called for transparency in investigations concerning the Executive Director of Infrastructure Services and the Chief Financial Officer’s alleged misconduct.
