The Gauteng ANC will be hauling its provincial deputy secretary, Humphrey Mmemezi, before its newly founded Integrity Committee to answers allegations of abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Mmemezi is due to appear before ANC Veterans’ League provincial chairman Baba Alexander Mbatha following a series of articles The Star linking him to damage to official state vehicles and claiming that he had improperly used a government-issued credit card.
A date for his appearance before the committee has not been set.
Mmemezi committed the acts in his position as MEC for local government and housing.
He was involved in an accident in Umzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal on November 11 last year. The insurance company refused to make a payout after Mmemezi failed to produce an accident report.
Mmemezi denied the insurance company was refusing to pay out and accused The Star of inaccurate reporting in an interview on Talk Radio 702.
He went on to tell the Gauteng legislature that the BMW X5 had suffered only minor damage to one of its doors.
Early this month, The Star revealed the existence of a memorandum in which senior managers in his office had agreed to sell the same BMW X5 on auction due to the seriousness of the damage to it during the accident.
Mmemezi also faces allegations that he had used a government credit card to buy an artwork worth R10 000 from McDonald’s on October 12 last year. The initial transaction was disguised to indicate he had bought R10 000 worth of burgers.
The Star also reported that Mmemezi went on a spending spree in India, where he purchased suits, “party wear” and shoes for almost R60 000 using the same card.
The newspaper also reported how the MEC had used his credit card to buy sweets, chocolates and airtime vouchers, and for making overnight bookings in several hotels in Joburg and Pretoria – not far away from his Krugersdorp home.
Gauteng ANC secretary David Makhura said the provincial executive had noted the serious allegations levelled against his deputy.
“Yesterday, the provincial executive committee welcomed the fact that the allegations had been referred to the office of the integrity commissioner, Dr Ralph Mgijima, in the Gauteng legislature for investigation. The office of Premier Nomvula Mokonyane has also requested a response from MEC Mmemezi.
“The provincial executive committee will await the outcome of the investigation by the integrity commissioner and the report of the premier before it can make any determination on the matter,” Makhura said.
He said their reasons for establishing an integrity committee had been to ensure the promotion of integrity and ethical conduct by all ANC members, especially those holding public office and who have leadership positions in society.
“The integrity committee will be an organisational mechanism for ANC members who either face damaging allegations to present and explain themselves to the organisation,” said Makhura.
“The representations to the committee would not nullify other accountability governance systems or legal processes.”
Makhura emphasised that the integrity committee was not a disciplinary committee, but could refer Mmemezi to appear before an ANC disciplinary committee.
The Star