Port Elizabeth - United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa is demanding answers from Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Athol Trollip as to why he "used" a PricewaterhouseCoopers report to tarnish the name of the UDM and its councillor and former deputy mayor Mongameli Bobani.
In May last year, Bobani was sacked as the mayoral committee member for health.
At the time, Trollip said the directorate had been concerned for a number of months given allegations of maladministration and impropriety. No specific reasons were given on how Bobani allegedly acted in bad faith.
This week, the Herald reported that a forensic report on a contract with Milongani Eco-Consulting failed to link Bobani to any wrongdoing. The PwC report has now shown how Milongani was a cash cow for R25.6-million of ratepayers’ money to be funnelled but Bobani was not named in the findings.
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In a statement on Tuesday, Holomisa said that the UDM and Bobani had been vindicated. "The PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) comprehensive report has shown that Milongani Eco-Consulting had been paid millions and millions of ratepayers’ money. Bobani’s name is not even mentioned in the report. For the record, Milongani was appointed in the African National Congress’ era and now City Manager, Johann Mettler had authorised the payments to this company long before Bobani took office."
"Our accusers, detractors and defamers who had said that the UDM condoned corruption should be ashamed. In main, the DA and its Executive Mayor Athol Trollip need to explain why it used the so-called draft report to tarnish the UDM’s good name and also at that time, not mentioned Bobani’s name."
Holomisa said that the DA needed to explain why its leader Mmusi Maimane was in possession of the draft report before everyone else, including council, saw it.
"Maimane must answer for the claim he made that there had been prima facie evidence that Bobani was part and parcel of this wasteful expenditure. Where is this evidence?" asked Holomisa.
He called on Trollip and Maimane to publicly apologise to the UDM and Bobani: "Maimane should also publicly apologise for dragging my good name through the mud. We hope that the DA voters in the NMBM has the wool removed from their eyes and that they now see the DA for what it is. A party that is willing to go so far as to use a dirty tricks campaign to discredit its coalition partner. The UDM was not the only target of the DA’s, as Patricia De Lille can attest to; should you differ from the boys’ club you are in for a rough ride," said Holomisa.