A HAWKS Task Team formed in Pretoria specially to eradicate corruption in Eastern Cape municipalities made four high-profile arrests that included a metro’s chief financial officer (CFO), supply chain manager, councillor and well-known attorney yesterday.
Buffalo City Metro’s CFO Vincent Pillay; supply chain management general manager Thembelani Sali; BCM councillor and ANC regional deputy chairwoman Luleka Simon-Ndzele; and the metro’s attorney, Matthew Moodley of Matyeshana Moodley Inc., appeared in the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
They face two charges of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
Two more high-profile suspects – head of executive support services, Ncumisa Sidukwana, and a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and former mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha – failed to hand themselves over to the Hawks yesterday after warrants for their arrest were issued by Chief Magistrate Valerie Gqiba.
State prosecutor Advocate Diniso Ketani told Magistrate Rochelle Sam in court yesterday that the six suspects had been accused of defrauding BCM of R190000.
“That figure is expected to rise as the investigation continues,” Ketani said.
The charges were brought forward on May 13 2015 by former city manager Andile Fani.
Two months later in August Fani was suspended after Pillay submitted a report to the then-mayor, Alfred Mtsi, stating that Fani might have breached the MFMA when he appointed Cape Town-based company Asla Construction to build houses in Reeston and supply top structures at a cost of R74-million.
In a twist in the saga, Moodley will prosecute Fani on Monday in an internal disciplinary committee (DC) looking into his conduct.
“The state is recommending a quantum amount of R2500 bail for each accused on the condition that they do not interfere with the investigation or threaten witnesses, amongst them Andile Fani,” Ketani told the court.
Advocate Mike Maseti, who is representing all four accused, rose and informed the magistrate of the impending DC on Monday where Fani and Moodley are involved.
Maseti told the court: “Your worship Mr Moodley, an attorney of this court, is spearheading an internal disciplinary hearing matter preferred against Fani.
“That matter is sitting on Monday and his concern is whether that could be seen as an act of interfering with a witness.”
In response Ketani said that internal disciplinary hearing could continue as long as Moodley did not discuss the case before court with him or else he would forfeit his bail.
Maseti shot back: “Your worship, the process on Monday when Moodley will be prosecuting Fani, I hope Fani does not see the act as going beyond what has just advised and run here to seek cancellation of bail. I hope Fani will be able to take the punches on Monday.”
The charges against the four accused emanate from an incident on May 7 2015 where Sidukwana allegedly submitted a memorandum to Fani requesting approval for a deviation in appointing Moodley.
According to legal papers before the court, Sali allegedly supported the memorandum and commented: “The accounting officer has the authority to approve the deviation as reflected in regulation 36 (1) (a) (i) (v) of the Municipal Finance Management Act based on the expositions in this memorandum.”
Fani wrote a letter the following day declining to approve the deviation. It is the state’s case that three days later Sidukwana then requested an employee to write a requisition requesting legal service and submit it to Sali’s department for processing without giving supporting documents.
Moodley was hired and allegedly quoted R189000 for his services.
It is alleged that Ncitha and Simon-Ndzele appointed Moodley to be the lawful attorney to launch an urgent application in the Grahamstown High Court.
The pair wanted Moodley to get the court to secure the release of CD recordings and minutes of a council meeting of April 29 2015 from Hawks Captain Luphumlo Lwana, the investigating officer of the now-infamous BCM Nelson Mandela funeral scandal.
Moodley was to also seek an order to interdict Lwana and the Hawks from threatening the arrest of municipal employees and disrupting their work.
Moodley was charged for allegedly billing BCM for work done from May 7 2015 while in fact he started working on May 13.
Pillay was charged for contravening section 174 (3) of the MFMA, but no details of the allegation were given on the charge sheet.
The matter was postponed to April 24 for further investigation.
The accused looked relaxed between the court sessions. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
FANI’S REVENGE: Hawks pounce on BCM officials
A HAWKS Task Team formed in Pretoria specially to eradicate corruption in Eastern Cape municipalities made four high-profile arrests that included a metro’s chief financial officer (CFO), supply chain manager, councillor and well-known attorney yesterday.
Buffalo City Metro’s CFO Vincent Pillay; supply chain management general manager Thembelani Sali; BCM councillor and ANC regional deputy chairwoman Luleka Simon-Ndzele; and the metro’s attorney, Matthew Moodley of Matyeshana Moodley Inc., appeared in the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
They face two charges of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
Two more high-profile suspects – head of executive support services, Ncumisa Sidukwana, and a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and former mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha – failed to hand themselves over to the Hawks yesterday after warrants for their arrest were issued by Chief Magistrate Valerie Gqiba.
State prosecutor Advocate Diniso Ketani told Magistrate Rochelle Sam in court yesterday that the six suspects had been accused of defrauding BCM of R190000.
“That figure is expected to rise as the investigation continues,” Ketani said.
The charges were brought forward on May 13 2015 by former city manager Andile Fani.
Two months later in August Fani was suspended after Pillay submitted a report to the then-mayor, Alfred Mtsi, stating that Fani might have breached the MFMA when he appointed Cape Town-based company Asla Construction to build houses in Reeston and supply top structures at a cost of R74-million.
In a twist in the saga, Moodley will prosecute Fani on Monday in an internal disciplinary committee (DC) looking into his conduct.
“The state is recommending a quantum amount of R2500 bail for each accused on the condition that they do not interfere with the investigation or threaten witnesses, amongst them Andile Fani,” Ketani told the court.
Advocate Mike Maseti, who is representing all four accused, rose and informed the magistrate of the impending DC on Monday where Fani and Moodley are involved.
Maseti told the court: “Your worship Mr Moodley, an attorney of this court, is spearheading an internal disciplinary hearing matter preferred against Fani.
“That matter is sitting on Monday and his concern is whether that could be seen as an act of interfering with a witness.”
In response Ketani said that internal disciplinary hearing could continue as long as Moodley did not discuss the case before court with him or else he would forfeit his bail.
Maseti shot back: “Your worship, the process on Monday when Moodley will be prosecuting Fani, I hope Fani does not see the act as going beyond what has just advised and run here to seek cancellation of bail. I hope Fani will be able to take the punches on Monday.”
The charges against the four accused emanate from an incident on May 7 2015 where Sidukwana allegedly submitted a memorandum to Fani requesting approval for a deviation in appointing Moodley.
According to legal papers before the court, Sali allegedly supported the memorandum and commented: “The accounting officer has the authority to approve the deviation as reflected in regulation 36 (1) (a) (i) (v) of the Municipal Finance Management Act based on the expositions in this memorandum.”
Fani wrote a letter the following day declining to approve the deviation. It is the state’s case that three days later Sidukwana then requested an employee to write a requisition requesting legal service and submit it to Sali’s department for processing without giving supporting documents.
Moodley was hired and allegedly quoted R189000 for his services.
It is alleged that Ncitha and Simon-Ndzele appointed Moodley to be the lawful attorney to launch an urgent application in the Grahamstown High Court.
The pair wanted Moodley to get the court to secure the release of CD recordings and minutes of a council meeting of April 29 2015 from Hawks Captain Luphumlo Lwana, the investigating officer of the now-infamous BCM Nelson Mandela funeral scandal.
Moodley was to also seek an order to interdict Lwana and the Hawks from threatening the arrest of municipal employees and disrupting their work.
Moodley was charged for allegedly billing BCM for work done from May 7 2015 while in fact he started working on May 13.
Pillay was charged for contravening section 174 (3) of the MFMA, but no details of the allegation were given on the charge sheet.
The matter was postponed to April 24 for further investigation.
The accused looked relaxed between the court sessions. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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