Johannesburg - Former mayor of Thulamela Local Municipality, Avhashoni Tshifhango and municipal manager Hlengani Maluleke have been granted R30 000 bail each after appearing in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court for corruption.
The two were arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) on Monday morning on allegations of corruption and maladministration.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said this followed an intensive, prosecution aimed investigation by the Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation Unit into the inappropriate administering of state funds into the Venda Mutual Bank by the Thulamela Local Municipality.
“The investigation revealed that the municipality invested an amount of R30 million into VBS.
“The former mayor accepted a Jeep Cherokee valued at over R638 000 through a well-known VBS money laundering third party. The municipal manager invested R30 million of the municipality money into VBS in contravention of the Municipal Finance Act,” Mogale said.
She also said the matter was postponed to May 24 in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
“The accused are to surrender their passports to the investigating officer, they are not to make contact with witnesses, directly or indirectly, and if they would like to leave the country for any reason, the request must be made to the investigating officer,” Mogale said.
According to Mogale, 25 people have already been arrested and are in the criminal justice system, facing more than 100 charges.
“More suspects are expected to be arrested during the investigation as about 20 municipalities in Limpopo, North West and Gauteng, lost nearly R1.6 billion after illegally investing with the bank,” she said.
Political Bureau