Samwu lays fraud charges against muni

Samwu has opened a criminal case against the Vhembe District municipality, alleging maladministration in the awarding of a security contract.

Polokwane – The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has opened a criminal case against the Vhembe District municipality, alleging maladministration in the awarding of a security contract.

Samwu’s provincial chairman Timmy Tshililo said on Monday they had opened a case of fraud and corruption against the municipality’s management, this after the alleged discovery of a R3.5 million payment to a security firm.

The move by the union is the latest in an ongoing fight between the municipality and Samwu over the past 18 months, which has even seen National Treasury step into the fray.

The union alleged that the security firm, whose identity is known to the African News Agency (ANA), was appointed without following procedure according to the Public Finance Management Act. The company cannot yet be named as it is still to appear before court.

The case relates to the appointment of a security firm which had allegedly been paid R3.5 million a month, this while the council had its own security company.

Tshililo said he believed that there was collusion between unnamed officials and security firms, which even extended to some security personnel being paid far higher salaries than the sector determination. “The maximum is R9 000 but here, people were paid R19 000,” said Tshililo.

According to Samwu, prior to the appointment, the municipality was allegedly spending R2 million per annum on security, but with the decision to appoint a private security firm, this expenditure item had ballooned to R3.5 million per month.

Thohoyandou police spokesman Major Mashudu Malelo confirmed that Samwu had opened a case against the municipality and that the matter was now with the police’s Commercial Crime Unit.

Tshililo said the appointment of the security company and the payment was in defiance of an agreement drawn up by a special task team which had ordered that no agreements be concluded until a forensic investigations into the state of the municipality’s finances had been completed.

“This is an abuse of power and the ruling party has failed to end maladministration,” he said.

Tshililo said that if the ANC-led provincial government had listened to their request to place the council under administration, taxpayers’ money could have been saved.

Meanwhile, ANC provincial secretary Knocks Seabi said a political intervention team composed of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), ANC leaders, and Samwu was sitting down to work through the problems at the municipality.

African News Agency

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