Swellendam Municipality and Council Speaker Jasper Du Toit Loubser (FF+) and Mayor Francois du Rand(DA).
THE DA-led Swellendam council has voted in favour of blocking public access to a damning report which details alleged tender irregularities within the municipality.
The decision was made during a council meeting where the DA together with the FF Plus voted in favour of a recommendation by the municipal manager Anneleen Vorster, who was named in the report, for it not to be made public.
In her recommendation Vorster claims she had solicited a legal opinion which recommended that it should not be made public, citing financial risks because implicated parties had threatened legal action, among others.
Advocate Ettiene Vermaak’s report found “discrepancies in bid scoring, with unexplained adjustments favouring a certain bidder during the evaluation phase”.
“Municipal officials have misrepresented to council the idea of a competitive bidding process in the procurement of these companies. The fact that work was done and paid for by the municipality to a service provider who was never appointed by the municipality is a serious form of financial misconduct / irregular expenditure and possible corruption.”
His recommendations included that the municipal manager be held accountable in terms of the “Disciplinary Regulations for Senior Managers of 2010 for interfering unfairly in procurement processes which was initially advertised and only one response was submitted”.
“The Municipal Manager then cancelled SMT 19/23/24 due to a ‘lack of funding’, but shortly thereafter SMT22/23/24 replaced SMT19/23/24, which was for the same purpose. As there were suddenly sufficient funds for SMT22/23/24, the motivation of the Municipal Manager to cancel SMT19/23/24 appears to be untrue,” the report read.
However, Council on Wednesday adopted recommendations by the DA which stated that releasing the report to the public was “premature”.
“The Council acknowledges that the Municipal Manager and the Executive Mayor advised and informed the Council of the financial and legal risks associated with the premature release of the Vermaak report. The Council acknowledges that the Municipal Manager has a fiduciary duty to protect Swellendam Municipality from Council decisions that expose the municipality, the Council, and ratepayers to legal and financial risks. The Council acknowledges that the Municipal Manager obtained a legal opinion regarding the premature release of the Vermaak report. The Council confirms that the Municipal Manager shared the legal opinion with all councillors on February 5. The Council acknowledges that the premature release of the Vermaak report has exposed the municipality, the Council, and ratepayers to legal and financial risks.”
The recommendation also noted that a resolution was supported by the majority of the Council, that “did not require the Municipal Manager to provide reasons why she should not be suspended”.
The Swellendam Speaker and mayor Francios Du Rand did not respond to questions by deadline.
A statement by council read: “The Council, fully recognising the significant legal and financial risks that the premature release of the report has exposed the municipality, councillors, and ratepayers to, is committed to addressing these challenges with due diligence and transparency.”
The statement further read that the report had been submitted to the police and a “Financial Disciplinary Board will meet on February 27 to deliberate on implicated officials (excluding the Municipal Manager)” and Du Rand “has secured a presiding officer, a prosecutor and a procurement and supply chain management specialist for the Municipal Manager's disciplinary process” .
ANC Swellendam caucus member Sydney Setiera said they planned on taking further steps as they were determined to fight corruption.
“It’s the same municipal manager implicated in the item, who prepared the item for Council. We feel the municipal manager has committed a grievous transgression so we will lodge a formal complaint with the Speaker and bring an item and inform the MEC and the minister of Co-Operative Governance & Traditional Affairs (Cogta). Further the decisions were illegal.
“If necessary we will go to court. We are not going to allow allegations of corruption to be swept under the carpet.”
Cape Times