-
Visit Limpopo Ka Dezemba – Premier Ramathuba
-
‘Sacking of our Mpumalanga chairperson is a rumour’ – SACP
-
SA needs R499bn annually to achieve its climate change targets
-
Aucamp’s link to the mining industry and his undeclared interest
-
Outcry as Gauteng Treasury cuts budget for maintenance of old and dilapidated health facilities
-
North West municipal manager consulting lawyers over R4.6m claim
-
‘Where is the VAR’s R20 million?’ - DA
-
Girls in a Mpumalanga school cry out for help against ‘abusive’ teacher
-
Out of court settlement of the Royal Bafokeng chieftaincy dispute turned down
-
Forensic probe into Nkomazi municipality almost complete
North West municipal manager consulting lawyers over R4.6m claim
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has issued the first Certificate of Debt against a government official.
Source: X
Sizwe sama Yende
A North West municipal manager is weighing his legal options after Auditor-General (AG), Tsakani Maluleke, ordered him to personally pay R4.6 million in a hallmark decision to hold miscreants accountable.
Maluleke used her extended powers for the first time since the Public Audit Act’s (PAA) extended powers came into effect in April 2019.
She issued a Certificate of Debt (CoD) against the manager of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, Allan Losaba, last week to recover the money which was overpaid to water tinkering service provider.
Maluleke uncovered material irregularity – flouting of laws, fraud, theft, or breach of dutycausing a loss to a public institution – in the water tankering contract in the 2018-19 audit circle.
Auditors then advised the municipality to recover the money but nothing has been done until now, hence the issuing of the CoD.
Ngaka Modiri Molema spokesperson, Lehlohonolo Matsose, said: “The municipal manager is currently consulting on the matter from a legal standpoint. Once all necessary processes have been concluded, a formal determination will be communicated in due course.”
According to Maluleke, the municipality appointed a service provider on 21 June 2018 to supply water to communities as part of drought relief as and when required.
The service provider was awarded a two-year contract from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2020. The contract was then extended on two occasions.
On 29 May 2020, the contract was extended from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020. On 25 August 2020, it was again extended for another three months to 31 December 2020.
“During the AGSA’s 2018-19 audit cycle,” Maluleke said in a statement, “the audit team selected a sample of daily tankering schedules completed by the service provider and compared them to the job cards completed. It was noted that the service provider overclaimed on kilometres and hours for water tankering services, resulting in a financial loss for the 2018-19 financial year.”
On discovering the immaterial irregularity, Maluleke informed the municipality but was given empty promises that the overpayment would be reclaimed from the service provider.
The municipality did not give her clear reason for the failure to recoup the money.
“My decision was primarily informed by the accounting officer’s failure to recover the material financial loss suffered by the municipality following the remedial action that I issued against him, despite ample opportunity provided to him to implement the remedial action,” Maluleke said.
Maluleke said that executive mayor, Khumalo Molefe, had a responsibility to recover the money in terms of section 5B(2) of the PAA.
“Section 5B(3) of the PAA, read with regulation 20 of the MI Regulations, which states that the executive authority (the mayor in this case) must, within a period stipulated by the auditor-general, and within regular intervals thereafter, submit progress reports on the recovery of the amount in the CoD,” Maluleke said.