Sandile Motha
Zululand municipality mayor accused of purging employees and of involvement in underhand dealings with mafia-style business people has stuck to his guns, saying his hands are clean and that he was a victim of a conspiracy.
A forensic report which makes damning findings about the shenanigans at the municipality was tabled on Wednesday in a virtual meeting attended by council.
The report relating to looting by several senior officials at the district municipality was tabled by the provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs who had undertaken the probe following misgovernance and endemic corruption worth millions being reported in the municipality.
Zululand houses local municipalities such as Ulundi, Abaqulusi, Nongoma, Dumbe and Uphongolo local municipality.
Reacting to the findings, the mayor Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi told Inside Metro that they would study the findings and respond accordingly.
“The council needs time to study the findings of the report and in due course we will provide an appropriate response. As I have always indicated, I still maintain that I’m not involved in any malfeasance or corruption. As a mayor, I don’t partake in any things which relates to the awarding of tenders my only role is to provide oversight,” said Buthelezi this week.
Buthelezi is accused of among other things of dictating on who should be awarded lucrative municipal contracts.
He is said to have enlisted the services of a well-known hostile and a radical economic transformation group called Delangokubona to threaten those he viewed as his opponents, a claim Buthelezi denies.
Sbusiso Ngcobo, municipal employee and head of Technical Services unit blew the whistle on the alleged corruption and fraud bedevelling the municipality.
Ngcobo was subsequently forced to flee after men believed to be hitmen stormed his office and threatened to kill him if he did not put pen to paper and tendered his resignation.
Senzelwe Mzila, provincial Cogta MEC confirmed the tabling of the findings of the forensic report and declined to share its content, instead said it had revealed damning findings.
“The report was tabled to council for deliberation. In the meantime, MEC Sipho Hlomuka has instructed the council to provide a response within 21 days on what is contained in the report,” said Mzila.
He said the municipality has also been instructed to devise a remedial action including on how it intends dealing with those implicated.
Xolani Dube, political analyst and senior researcher at Xubera Institute said the recent revelations implicating the district municipality will have a negative impact on the IFP ahead of the 2021 municipal elections.
“ This might affect the IFP ahead of the next year’s poll. The Zululand district is the heart of IFP voter base. The party cannot afford to lose it considering that it had high hopes of entrenching it position as the official opposition in KZN,” said Dube.
He said the party needed to deal decisively with those implicated in order to be seen in the eyes the public as a reliable party committed to rooting out corruption in its ranks.
