The Tshwane Metro Council has dismissed numerous allegations related to nepotism, corruption and improper conduct by its officials which were made in a television exposé.
On Sunday, M-Net's Carte Blanche reported on alleged gross misconduct which had cost city ratepayers millions of rand.
The allegations have now been reported to Gauteng MEC for Local Government and according to a spokesperson "this matter will be dealt with appropriately".
The Democratic Alliance has also called for an independent auditor to investigate the allegations and called on Executive Mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa to resign, and city manager Kiba Kekana to be suspended.
Several claims are made in the report against Kekana, among them that he appointed his former colleague, Cecilia Moumakwe, as Executive Head in the Private Office of the Municipal Manager at an annual salary of about R800 000 despite her being under-qualified.
It was also alleged that Kekana enjoys spending ratepayers money by clocking up monthly tabs of over R300 000 for lekgotlas at exclusive venues in neighbouring provinces.
Carte Blanche alleged that the council's head of procurement, Hamilton Mhlom, who was suspended in connection with a R35-million contract last year, is back at work without any explanation of the outcome of an investigation into his conduct.
It was also claimed that auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers were recently awarded two tenders worth nearly R9-million to compile a financial report and assist with current financial statements because the council's chief financial officer, Ndanduleni Makhari, was not a qualified chartered accountant, and unfit to hold the position.
Carte Blanche highlighted alleged corruption in the city planning department, corruption in the re-appointment of controversial Tshwane Metro Police Chief Mpho Mmutle and the victimisation of employees who were not aligned with current political leadership.
On Monday, the Pretoria News submitted an extensive query related to the allegations to the council.
Council spokesperson Console Tleane issued a "preliminary response" and "noted with concern" the broadcast of the programme. "The city will offer comprehensive answers during the course of this week," he said.
Tleane said some of the allegations may be defamatory and most of them had been dealt with on several occasions.
DA chief whip in the council, Natasha Michael, said they had been raising the issues for months but the ANC led council refused to do anything about it.
DA spokesperson on the Municipal Public Accounts Committee, Fred Nel, has asked the chairman of the committee to investigate the allegations.
Department of Provincial and Local Government spokesperson Zandi Ratshitanga said where an allegation of corruption or maladministration was reported to the department, they referred the allegation to the relevant provincial MEC for Local Government.
0 comments:
Post a Comment