The full investigative report into alleged irregularities at the Setsoto local municipality must be made available to make sure proper action will be taken by the Ficksburg-based municipality, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.
The DA requested the Setsoto municipality to make available the full report of the Section 106 Commission in accordance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Only an executive summary of the report was made public and handed to opposition parties in the local council.
Setsoto DA councillor Ben du Toit said the report should be made available in the interest of reconciliation between the Meqheleng Concerned Citizens group, the rest of the community and the municipality.
Recently, the Free State department of co-operative governance indicated that several managers and officials at the battling Ficksburg municipality may face criminal and disciplinary charges following the investigation into its affairs.
The department released the executive summary of the report at the time.
The investigation followed service delivery protests during which Ficksburg protester Andries Tatane was killed during police action.
The commission uncovered a municipality in total disarray, with no proper management and financial control with widespread theft, fraud and corruption at its core, which left it totally unstable.
It found that staff in its supply chain management department mainly operated on instructions from senior managers and were often coerced into making orders that were against policy.
The commission recommended the immediate suspension and investigation of identified managers and staff.
Du Toit said the release of the full report would ensure that proper action would be taken against those implicated in the report.
The report was also compiled with taxpayers’ money, “which makes the findings of the commission of public interest”.
He said it was also unacceptable that the two reports, which had been furnished to the DA, had been modified to the extent that names stipulated in the original report as well as other vital information, had been omitted.
The party said the withholding of the full report would only strengthen the suspicion that the Setsoto council wanted to protect individuals who may be implicated in wrongdoings. - Sapa