Cape Town – Opposition parties in George have accused the DA of making mayor Melvin Naik a scapegoat for alleged fraud, corruption and maladministration in the municipality.
This comes after the DA yesterday took action against Naik after a forensic investigation, conducted at the instruction of DA Local Government MEC Anton Bredell, had made serious findings against Naik.
DA George constituency head and MP Geordin Hill-Lewis said the party had studied the probe’s findings.
The report is to be tabled in
the next full council meeting on January 30.
Hill-Lewis handed it over to George police.
“There is also evidence that certain relevant documents were withheld from the investigators,” he said.
The municipality refused to comment.
The Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa) spokesperson, Dawid Kamfer, said Naik was being used as a scapegoat.
“The DA is more corrupt than they want people to know. For the DA to save themselves, they said they would do their own investigation.
"What took Bredell so long to make a decision? It cannot be one man that is corrupt. The mayor did not sign the cheques, he wasn’t the chair of the procurement department,” he said.
Kamfer said race also played a role as the DA continued to publicly target officials of colour. “They (the DA) know 2021 is election time, and they must clear their name by putting the blame on someone else.”
The ANC said Bredell should investigate further allegations of corruption in the municipality.
ANC regional secretary Mzwanele “Major” Sokopo said: “The DA must not give the impression that the investigation was their initiative. It was opposition parties, in particular the ANC and PBI, that started this.
"In that same municipality, there is an element of corruption. The MMC of finance has allegedly allowed his son to invest R300 million in municipal money.
"The son is allegedly benefiting from this investment. The DA has done nothing about it. It is for two reasons.
"One, it’s because this man is white. Two, because he might belong to the dominant faction so they will have to find a way of dealing with it.”
Responding to the opposition parties, Bredell said: “It appears some opposition political parties have little to occupy their time with in the Western Cape and therefore attempt to score cheap political points by grandstanding.”