Johannesburg - A former senior official and the manager of an Mpumalanga municipality are at each other’s throats, accusing one another of stealing funds through fraud and corruption.
The dispute was sparked by comments made by Zitha Skhosana in his letter of resignation as chief financial officer of the Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality in Siyabuswa, near Middelburg.
His letter, dated March 9 and seen by The Sunday Independent, was addressed to the municipal manager, Benny Mahlangu.
Skhosana referred to Mahlangu as “useless”, and alleged that the manager had continually frustrated and tarnished him.
He said this was with the intention of portraying him as “a bad person to the political leadership of the municipality, all with the aim of protecting and wanting to let your corrupt activities to succeed (sic)”.
Skhosana confirmed the letter and said he had addressed it to Mahlangu in his capacity as municipal manager.
He wrote: “In my 23 years of service as a local government employee, I was never led by a useless municipal manager like yourself and I think you know very well that you don’t deserve by all means to occupy the position that you are privileged with at Dr JS Moroka Municipality.”
Skhosana said one of his differences with Mahlangu was that he had appointed a service provider not budgeted for by the municipality.
He said Mahlangu had used his powers to appoint a company that was doing business with a municipality in Limpopo.
Skhosana conceded that this was legal, but said Mahlangu had failed to secure a discount.
He said the company had charged a Limpopo municipality R300 000 to develop an organogram, with job descriptions for employees.
The same company, according to Skhosana, was paid more than R1 million to do the same job for the Dr JS Moroka Municipality.
Explaining why he had resigned, Skhosana alleged that Mahlangu had blocked all efforts by the council to investigate suspicions of financial misconduct against him.
“I decided to resign because in all financial matters the buck stops with me,” Skhosana said.
Mahlangu rejected the allegations and denied he had been guilty of inappropriate conduct.
He confirmed the payment of more than R1m to a service provider for an organogram.
“(Skhosana) approved the payment. He did not advise me, as required by law, against paying it,” Mahlangu said.
He said the resignation by Skhosana was “sour grapes” and because of disciplinary charges against him.Skhosana denies there were charges against him.
DA councillor Tarzan Mokhabela has entered the fray, but appears to support Skhosana.
He alleges that Mahlangu is hardly ever in his office and prefers to spend his time attending to his business interests in Gauteng.
Mahlangu said the DA was playing a political game and denied he was absent from work.
“I live in Pretoria and travel to work every day. They should provide proof,” he said.
The Sunday Independent
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