By Luvuyo Mjekula and Asemahle Vumsindo
The MCF held a media briefing at the Graham Hotel on Monday to provide the “correct narrative” on three issues:
- The MCF’s vote of no-confidence against Makana mayor Yandiswa Vara in March
- The cessionary agreement approved by Makana council at a recent special council meeting
- The MCF’s criminal case against the municipality.
All five PR councillors Lungile Mxube, Philip Machanick, Paul Notyawa, Kungeka Mashiane and Lena May were present at the gathering. They were joined by new member Master Ngeleza and executive committee member Peter King.
“We are gathered here as the MCF in order to set the record straight,” Mxube stated.
Vote of no confidence against the mayor
Mxube said they never had an opportunity to explain the basis for the motion against Vara, notwithstanding the fact that on paper, the motion was self-explanatory. “However, since then, nothing has improved and nothing has changed. It is business as usual,” Mxube said.
He said the non-action has prompted the party to consider a second submission of the motion before the end of this year. But this time around, Mxube said they would also target council Speaker, Mtutuzeli Matyumza. The municipal manager, Mpumelelo Kate and chief financial officer Nomfundo Ntsangani would not be spared either.
Mxube lashed out at Matyumza, calling him a constitutional delinquent, who violates rules of order. He also called out Cllr Andile Hoyi for calling MCF leaders liars. Mxube said despite the mayor and Matyumza publicly declaring their support for the investigation of the municipality by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the unit and the Hawks had to go to the local magistrate’s court to secure an order for a search warrant, and that is problematic. He labelled the two hypocrites.
Mxube stated that one of the bases for their motion of no confidence was that in the financial year 2021 and 2022 the municipality had received R87.1 million in the Equitable Share grant but no reporting was done on its use.
The MCF pointed to other financial failures within the Makana Municipality under Vara and Matyumza, including unauthorised, irregular and wasteful expenditure as contained in the 2022/23 Auditor General (AG) report.
– R779.3 million in unauthorised expenditure
– R407.1 million in irregular expenditure and
– R4.7 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure
The MCF further highlighted R21.2 million spent on consultants for “capacity building” despite the municipality continuing to receive a disclaimer audit opinion.
The party said the financial crisis was due to a lack of moral and political leadership under the current leaders and planned to petition the AG to conduct a special audit on the municipality.
MCF opposes cessionary agreement
The MCF then focused on the notorious R2.6 million water pump, with Notyawa using a donkey analogy to explain the procurement process. He detailed how the supplier, Manco Business Enterprise, was paid the R2.6 million but waited a year to pay the manufacturer. “So during that entire period, they were getting the benefit of interest on that money. Why they waited nearly a year is everyone’s guess,” Machanick remarked.
On 17 September during a council meeting, the council agreed to pay an additional R2.2 million for the pump. The MCF is vehemently rejecting a legal measure called the “cessionary agreement,” which involves “ceding your rights for what you owe”. The party asserted that the agreement is an “escape route to save Manco from liability”, preventing the recovery of the original funds.
The party proposed the use of an emergency procurement system instead. “We said we support the emergency procurement of a water pump on condition that it is done lawfully, within the legal framework,” said Mxube.
He said despite the chief financial officer’s opposition to emergency procurement, there has been no delivery of the water pump. “There is no clarity whether the money has been paid, when is the pump going to come and how long it’s going to take to deliver it from Benoni to Makana.”
Meanwhile, Machanick said the other concerning issue was that the original project amount was from a water services infrastructure grant. But the balance of the grant was forfeited because it wasn’t spent in the allowed time period. “So this R2.2 million that is being paid out now is the balance of what was due to the manufacturer plus escalation. That’s coming out of the municipal budget.”
He said this was money that could be used to fix potholes and sewer leaks.
The MCF says the only route to recover that money is through section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), to allow an investigation in order to make a determination as to who is liable for the wasteful, fruitless and irregular expenditure.
They will challenge the cessionary agreement in court, with the explicit goal of having it declared unlawful so that the people who voted for it “get punished” for protecting corrupt service providers.
Criminal case against Makana Municipality
The MCF has opened a criminal case of fraud and corruption against senior Makana leadership over the R2.6 million pump payment. Mxube said an investigator has concluded initial work and is now set to visit Makana for potential interviews with councillors and implicated officials. He said the party stood by its decision. “That matter is the subject of a criminal investigation. But we wanted to give clarity on that issue because somehow, somebody deliberately planted a false narrative on social media,” Mxube stated. He said even if it took years, the law would take its course.
Mxube concluded the briefing with a direct appeal to the residents of Makhanda: “To stop the suffering, vote wisely, vote for hope not for hopelessness” and urged them to “Run for the MCF as they are a voice, fighting against corruption.”
