Allegations of corruption and maladministration are rife in some municipalities in Limpopo. Mayor of the Tubatse Municipality in Burgersfort is accused of interfering in the awarding of a security tender.
The municipality is also under investigation by the Special Investing Unit for alleged corruption and maladministration.
The Vhembe District Municipality is also being investigated by the unit following similar allegations.
Tubatse Municipality, located in the platinum belt in Burgersfort, is one of the municipalities in the province that is struggling financially. It also has been rocked by allegations of corruption and maladministration.
In July 2014, President Jacob Zuma authorised the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to probe allegations of corruption and maladministration in the municipality. Recently, a whistle blower has reported the mayor, Ralepane Mamekoa and some senior managers to the State Security Agency (SSA) for allegedly interfering in the awarding of a multi-million rand security tender.
According to a document in possession of the SABC, the mayor allegedly instructed the former acting municipal manager to stop the awarding of the tender. The former acting manager was subsequently charged with various transgressions. The manager has since been recalled to the provincial Co-operative Governance Department.
Another acting manager has been seconded to the municipality.
Limpopo's Co-operative Governance department acknowledges that it has launched an investigation into the awarding of the security tender at the Tubatse Municipality.
The opposition party in the municipality, the Democratic Alliance, says that there's political interference in the administration of the municipality.
The Tubatse Residents Association has also documented incidents of alleged corruption in the municipality. The association's spokesperson, Morewane Sekhukhune, says they have been complaining about problems at the municipality in vain.
“The concerns of the area are pivoting around the issues of corruption. We've been crying for a long time trying to find the solution to this type of a problem. Unfortunately, we don't have any at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Limpopo's Co-operative Governance Department acknowledges that it has launched an investigation into the awarding of the security tender at the Tubatse Municipality.
The department's spokesperson, Evans Selomo, says their investigation is not aimed at specific individuals, but at the process to award the tender.
“There're some investigations that we're doing in Tubatse, but the investigations themselves are not necessarily on a specific individual. We're actually investigating the circumstances surrounding the awarding of a tender.”
In a matter which appears to be wasteful expenditure, the Tubatse Municipality has paid a contractor, whose name is known to the SABC, but which couldn't be divulged as he was not contacted, an unknown amount of money to install robots and high mast lights in the Burgersfort area. The contractor, however, made illegal connections and Eskom disconnected the robots and the lights.
The malfunctioning of robots is causing a nightmare, especially during peak hours in the mining town of Burgersfort.
The municipality has now paid Eskom another amount to re-install the robots and the lights.
Meanwhile, the Vhembe Municipality is also being investigated by the SIU for allegations of corruption and maladministration.
In the past few months, the district municipality had its assets attached after it had failed to pay a service provider. The municipality has also failed to pay its employees on time on more than two occasions this year.
The Mopani District Municipality also had its authority on water services removed and given to the Lepelle Northern Water for failing to provide water to residents.
Mopani District has in the past spent millions of rand on boreholes which do not function while others only exist on paper.
The Tubatse Municipality has promised to issue a comment later on the allegations regarding the security tender.
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