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The municipality has a history of vulnerable financial systems . In 2018/19 financial year corrupt officials fleeced about R19.6 million in separate tranches. They pilfered R5.4 million, then R12 million (over a year) and then R2.2 million.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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The Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo has not come to explain progress in recovering about R46.4 million lost through law firms and unscrupulous officials over the past five years.

The municipality in Groblersdal has been haemorrhaging cash in the most negligent of ways, but has been sluggish in recovering it.

Opposition councillor, Seun Mogotji of the Bolsheviks Party of South Africa, said that these matters were referred to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) but no feedback has been given to council.

“It is worrying that all matters that go to MPAC disappear. The council has not received any reports about the monies that the municipality has been losing,” Mogotji said.

The district lost R11.6 million in a civil claim after its attorney allegedly settled a dispute out of court without any instruction from the council.

The law firm in question then lied that the district had lost the matter at a trial but there was no trial that took place.

The attorney claimed that the loss had come as a result of their inheriting “pleadings which made submissions that compromised [the district’s] case” and that a case law was cited which the lawyers could not defend, during said non-existent trial.

Sekhukhune district lost the money following a contractual dispute with with Hexagon Technologies and Project Enterprises that was awarded a tender for the supply and delivery of precast VIP toilets in the 2012/13 financial year.

Hexagon ceded 100% of its work to another company. Hexagon and the district clashed when the new company demanded more money, because there was a price escalation in the delivery of the toilets. The municipality refused to pay more than the agreed price.

Hexagon sued the municipality in 2015 and won. The municipality dug in its heels and did not settle the debt. Interest accumulated to R1 million. Last year May, Hexagon attached the municipality’s bank account to claim R6 million, plus interest that put the total amount at R11.6 million.

The council was not convinced by the outcome of this lawsuit and the attorney’s explanation.  It decided to hire another attorney to rescind the court’s decision when it was not provided with the pleadings and the case law.

The new attorney, however, discovered that there had been no trial when he scrutinised the records.

Sekhukhune officials also showed their extravagance after splurging R30 million on lawyers to recover a measly R600 000.

The lawyers were hired to recover R5.4 million, which corrupt officials working in cahoots with those of their ilk in the bank, channelled to bogus accounts in 2018.

The R5.4 million was stolen in two payments of R4.5 million and R900 000.  

Police were engaged. They froze the accounts and recovered R4.7 million. However, the council decided to engage the services of lawyers to recover the R600 000 that had already been spent when the police acted.

This exercise has cost the municipality R30 million in legal fees – a R29.6 million loss in public funds.

Sekhukhune municipal manager, Meshack Kgwale, referred questions to spokesperson, Lamson Moropyane, who said: “I am still engaging the leadership on it. No response yet.”

The municipality has a history of vulnerable financial systems . In 2018/19 financial year corrupt officials fleeced about R19.6 million in separate tranches. They pilfered R5.4 million, then R12 million (over a year) and then R2.2 million.

The R12 million was transferred in R1 million instalments over 12 months, into an account supposedly belonging to the labour department’s compensation fund.

Sekhukhune residents suffer the most. Large parts of the area are still without water, electricity and roads.