A parliamentary oversight committee will visit the troubled Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality to demand answers on a number of concerns, including alleged R5,000 bribery of councillors not to attend meetings and eight consecutive disclaimer audit opinions.

The National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, chaired by Dr Zweli Mkhize, is expected to descend on the province for two days next week, and the struggling municipality based in Harrismith in the Free State has indicated that it will answer questions raised by MPs.

On June 30, Mkhize wrote to Maluti-a-Phofung’s controversial Mayor, Malekula Melato, and Free State Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Saki Mokoena, informing them about its plans to conduct an oversight visit in the municipality to gather information and ensure accountability.

Among the matters identified by the portfolio committee requiring forensic investigations are the “bribing of councillors to the value of R5,000 each to prevent council sittings from forming a quorum” and R5 million spent on the procurement of uniforms while the council was on recess.

In addition, the committee has asked the municipality to explain how it paid for 45 transformers when only less than a quarter were delivered, as well as asphalt and road marking paint, paid for but not delivered.

According to Mkhize’s letter, Maluti-a-Phofung allegedly paid double the R6m bill to a security company in February and March this year, and Melato has been asked to apprise the portfolio committee on the allegation.

The committee is also seeking answers on the eight consecutive disclaimer audit opinions by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) and the AGSA’s inability to determine the municipality’s reported achievements.

“For example, there was one indicator that related to the much-needed upgrading of six water pump stations.

“The municipality reported that the six water pump stations had been upgraded but could not provide evidence of the achievement,” Mkhize explained.

The committee said, based on site visits, the AGSA team confirmed that the municipality did not adequately maintain four of these pump stations, which had totally collapsed and had not been operational for several years.

During the oversight visit, Maluti-a-Phofung is expected to provide reasons for the irregularities or transgressions and state the consequence management it exercised against the transgressors in line with relevant legislation and supply specific names and actions taken.

The portfolio committee also wants details of the corrective steps taken to rectify the transgressions identified by the AGSA in the 2023/24 financial year.

Additionally, the municipality must provide future action it intends to take to prevent recurrence, with target dates and the accounting platforms where the corrections will be monitored, as well as the anticipated actions to be considered should the preventative actions or targets be missed.

The municipality’s spokesperson, Thabo Khessah, said they were ready to provide the portfolio committee with the answers it requires.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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