eThekwini Municipality loses R453 000 in wasteful expenditure

Durban — The eThekwini Municipality has written off nearly R453 000 in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

This was detailed in a report from the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) for the first quarter which ended on March 31, 2022. The money is deemed to be irrecoverable after an investigation into the expenditure.

MPAC deputy chairperson Pearl Mkhize said reports disclosed the deviation from Supply Chain Management (SCM) Policy, the reasons for the deviation and the amount of the expenditure.

In some instances cases were referred for criminal investigation. The eThekwini City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) deemed R340 361 and R113 208 irrecoverable.

The transgressions investigated involved the Parks, Recreation and Culture unit (PRC) where alleged fraud, corruption and extortion took place.

The service provider submitted an invoice for services not rendered and was paid. The report said disciplinary action cannot be instituted against an official because she resigned from the municipality.

The CIIU recommended that the company should be blacklisted from doing any work with the municipality. A total of R140 000 must be recovered from the company.

A criminal case was opened with the Durban Central police in 2018. The CIIU stated that further disciplinary action must be taken against an employee for not reporting the matter.

Among the CIIU findings were:

• The PRC unit’s staff appointed an entity without a valid contract and no authority in 2018 for R58 000. The employee resigned, avoiding disciplinary action.

• The PRC unit staff did not follow the SCM policy in 2015 for an amount of R44 000. A disciplinary process was instituted and the CIIU recovered R20 000.

• In the mayoral parlour, in an alleged breach of the Municipal Finance Act, the acquisition of speeches without a contract that did not go through the communications unit amounted to R30 327. The official resigned.

• An SCM staff member is undergoing a disciplinary hearing for alleged fraud and corruption in the awarding of a contract for steam laundry services for R30 000.

• In the Water and Sanitation (WS) unit, R30 000 was paid to a service provider to repair a pump at the KwaMashu water treatment works. The SCM policy was not adhered to and the CIIU found cover quoting and collusion from the three related companies in November 2018. The CIIU stated that disciplinary action must be taken against staff for inviting service providers to submit quotations to repair the pump while there was no pump for repairs. The chairperson of the blacklisting committee considers blacklisting all three service providers.

• Eighty bags of cement and two wheelbarrows were stolen by an employee in the WS unit. He also used a municipal vehicle without authority. The CIIU stated that the legal and compliance services unit must recover the cost of the material fraudulently collected by the person in the amount of R8 000.

• In the WS, the CIIU found an employee had claimed overtime of R113 208 but had not worked. The CIIU stated that this amounted to fraud resulting in the misappropriation of municipal funds. The CIIU recommended that disciplinary action be taken against the person who authorised the fraudulent claims. The CIIU recommended recovering the R113 208.

Mkhize said money must be recovered from those employed by and those who resigned from the City.

DA councillor and member of MPAC Andre Beetge said the word consequence management stuck out in these reports and that MPAC must follow up on the criminal charges.

“For many of these instances, we have repeat offences in the same departments and yet the same people are sitting in the office. Why are we not getting rid of the bad apples?”

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