WHILE Sedibeng's ANC regional chairperson finds himself entangled in accusations of financial mismanagement, the Emfuleni Municipality has threatened to cut the electricity supply to the party’s offices.
This comes shortly after it was revealed that Emfuleni Municipality mayor Simon Mofokeng splurged nearly R2 million on takeaways and a fancy hotel.
In letter of demand sent to the ANC’s Sedibeng branch, the municipality threatened to cut the office’s electricity supply after the party failed to keep up with payments.
In the letter, Emfuleni states: “The municipality regrets to inform you that the electricity supply to your property has been discontinued due to the failure to adhere to the warning notice for payment of the municipal account.
“Kindly take note that according our records your municipal account is overdue to the sum of R669 891.22, with a recon fee of R636.16 (VAT 89.06).” The final figure amounts to R670818.44.
The letter later states that the ANC will be held liable for all costs as reflected in the notice.
The ANC’s Sedibeng regional spokesperson Themba Ndaba told The Star that the ANC had been experiencing problems with its electricity bill for the past six months but insisted that arrangements had been made with the municipality.
“We have acknowledged the debt in all our media responses, and, like any other resident, company or institution which has its operations and/offices based in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, we have made necessary arrangements with the municipality to settle arrears in our account,” Ndaba said.
Asked what the arrangements were, Ndaba said: “The ANC Sedibeng, like all other entities and organisations that have operations and offices in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, must be accorded institution-client privilege and privacy in handling the matter, as details of the party’s arrangement with the municipality remain confidential, and those in the opposition benches know this.”
The electricity problems come after Mofokeng was last week accused by the DA of spending nearly R2 million on KFC, Nando’s and hotel bills during his stint at the helm of the Sedibeng District Municipality.
DA Gauteng constituency head in Emfuleni North Kingsol Chabalala alleged that Mofokeng had spent R1772549.28 to date on KFC, Nando’s and the Shakespeare Inn (hotel).
“Mayor Mofokeng racked up a shocking R1.1 million between 2011 and 2015 as ANC mayor of Sedibeng District Municipality, before he was deployed as mayor to Emfuleni - where he gobbled up a further R629000 between November 2015 to April 2017,” said Chabalala.
Chabalala also alleged that Mofokeng’s claims for luxury hotel stays and his appetite for fast food were in addition to irregular fuel claims which were submitted for his private car and car hire despite having an official mayoral vehicle.
“The DA has requested Gauteng Co-operative Governance MEC Paul Mashatile’s office to provide a more detailed list, including amounts and invoices on the ANC mayor’s government credit card claims,” said Chabalala.
In the written reply, Mashatile confirmed that since November, Mofokeng had claimed R629179. The other amounts of R1143370 were claimed before that.
Meanwhile, Chabalala accused the ANC in the region of having spent nearly R1 million of public funds in a bid to protect itself from internal party factionalism.
Chabalala said that this was revealed in a reply to a question in the legislature by Mashatile.
According to Mashatile, the money allocated for private protection services to councillors was for the mitigation and prevention of threats encountered during service delivery protests and intra-party political conflicts.
“The ANC in Emfuleni is at war with itself, and the public are footing the bill. No DA councillor has made use of such funding,” Chabalala said.
“The ANC in Emfuleni is scared of its own people and running scared of community members because services are not being delivered.”
He said the DA had already tabled a motion in the council to have Mofokeng removed. - Additional reporting by ANA