Top officials at the Chris Hani district municipality are in hot water with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) over millions of rand of irregular and wasteful expenditure.
In a confidential letter penned by executive mayor Lusanda Sizani, municipal manager Gcobani Mashiyi and former strategic manager Bhekisisa Mthembu are accused of suspected foul play after the municipality incurred more than R18m in wasteful expenditure.
The mayor is investigating whether the council can hold the pair accountable and get a recommendation on the disciplinary process to be undertaken.
This follows a recommendation from the SIU after it investigated a matter of serious malpractice and maladministration.
The agency probed allegations concerning the appointment of the Chris Hani Cooperative Development Centre, a nonprofit corporation which is reported to have converted community service providers and operators into functional operatives.
The SIU found that the municipal manager contravened section 62 of the Municipal Finance Management Act in that he permitted unauthorised expenditure during the 2021/22 financial year.
Mashiyi reportedly allowed the expenditure allocated in the engineering services vote which was budgeted for stipend payments to be appropriated for payment to the Chris Hani Cooperative Development Centre, for basic toolboxes (R125,000), protective clothing and overalls (R753,000) and technical training to the value of R2.24m.
This expenditure was not planned or budgeted for the 2020/21 financial year and was not unforeseen and unavoidable. In addition, this expenditure was further invoiced and paid outside the scope of the service level agreement proposal’s 12-month period.
Mashiyi was also said to have permitted fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R1.39m for training, social facilitation and capacity development, which was not rendered to community service providers and operators as part of the second tranche payment to CHCDC.
He also permitted a further R659,590 for sanitisers which were disposed of by the CHCDC due to leaking caused by long term storage, an amount of R88,550 for bleach which was disposed of by CHCDC due to it expiring, R19,642 for protective clothing which was lost or stolen from CHCDC storage and R83,952 for overalls which were collected by CHDM for the extended public works programme and the waste management programme which is not related to the CHCDC’s agreement with the municipality.
There is also a litany of irregular expenditure related to procuring personal protective equipment which included face masks, sanitisers, bleach and spray bottles for the Covid-19 pandemic from CHCDC, contrary to the emergency procurement provision.
The SIU recommended that the municipality institute disciplinary action against the municipal manager.
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