A councillor in an Eastern Cape district municipality has written to her council calling for lifestyle audits of all the district authority’s senior managers, including the municipal manager.
The troubled Amathole district municipality’s ANC councillor Nanziwe Rulashe – who herself stands accused of defrauding her own council of R2.5-million in 2015 – has written to the ADM council calling for a lifestyle audit and other financial investigations.
Rulashe claims some administration bosses are living lavish lifestyles which do not correspond with their income from the cash-strapped council.
She claims some have amassed “unexplained wealth” while living far beyond their means, “with some owning seven luxury vehicles and many properties”.
In a letter addressed to council speaker Nceba Ndikinda, dated May3 and seen by the Dispatch, Rulashe calls for all the senior officials’ declaration forms to be “closely scrutinised” to ascertain if they have declared all they own or companies they have stakes in.
Ndikinda yesterday denied receiving Rulashe’s letter, saying: “I have not seen such a letter. It has not been sent to my office.”
However, Rulashe was adamant that she e-mailed the letter to Ndikinda who in turn “had acknowledged its receipt”.
Rulashe also wants some tenders awarded and appointments of senior administrators in the past financial year to be probed by a council-sanctioned investigating team.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Rulashe confirmed writing the letter to council, asking that it be presented in the next special council meeting where she hopes a team to investigate her concerns will be established.
She said this was her second letter requesting such a probe. Her first in April “was ignored”.
“As members of council, ours is to oversight whatever is going on in our municipality. When we see our senior managers owning seven to eight luxury vehicles, while others are having more than 10 properties, then that is something that needs to be probed,” Rulashe said.
She claimed officials were living lavish lives and that there was a need to “determine how they were doing that with the money they are getting paid from the municipality”.
“They need to account before a council-sanctioned investigation team on how they were affording such wealth.”
Rulashe, who was previously ADM’s municipal public accounts committee chair, refused to divulge which official owned many “unexplained” luxury cars and properties.
She also wants all senior management appointments made in the past financial year reviewed. “This is because of suspicions that some people were employed in very senior administration positions while not qualified for such posts.
“We have had a situation where senior people in administration were stagnant in their posts while new people were given much more senior posts.”
Rulashe’s fraud charges relate to a R2.5-million donation ADM made in 2015 to her event, the Miss Amathole Heritage beauty pageant.
She was arrested early last year, together with ADM’s former mayor Nomasikizi Konza, who is accused of getting kickbacks from the donation.
In the dock with them are Sigcinile Saba, Mawande Njeza and Rulashe’s younger sister, Anita. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
Call for ‘rich’ officials to be audited
The troubled Amathole district municipality’s ANC councillor Nanziwe Rulashe – who herself stands accused of defrauding her own council of R2.5-million in 2015 – has written to the ADM council calling for a lifestyle audit and other financial investigations.
Rulashe claims some administration bosses are living lavish lifestyles which do not correspond with their income from the cash-strapped council.
She claims some have amassed “unexplained wealth” while living far beyond their means, “with some owning seven luxury vehicles and many properties”.
In a letter addressed to council speaker Nceba Ndikinda, dated May3 and seen by the Dispatch, Rulashe calls for all the senior officials’ declaration forms to be “closely scrutinised” to ascertain if they have declared all they own or companies they have stakes in.
Ndikinda yesterday denied receiving Rulashe’s letter, saying: “I have not seen such a letter. It has not been sent to my office.”
However, Rulashe was adamant that she e-mailed the letter to Ndikinda who in turn “had acknowledged its receipt”.
Rulashe also wants some tenders awarded and appointments of senior administrators in the past financial year to be probed by a council-sanctioned investigating team.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Rulashe confirmed writing the letter to council, asking that it be presented in the next special council meeting where she hopes a team to investigate her concerns will be established.
She said this was her second letter requesting such a probe. Her first in April “was ignored”.
“As members of council, ours is to oversight whatever is going on in our municipality. When we see our senior managers owning seven to eight luxury vehicles, while others are having more than 10 properties, then that is something that needs to be probed,” Rulashe said.
She claimed officials were living lavish lives and that there was a need to “determine how they were doing that with the money they are getting paid from the municipality”.
“They need to account before a council-sanctioned investigation team on how they were affording such wealth.”
Rulashe, who was previously ADM’s municipal public accounts committee chair, refused to divulge which official owned many “unexplained” luxury cars and properties.
She also wants all senior management appointments made in the past financial year reviewed. “This is because of suspicions that some people were employed in very senior administration positions while not qualified for such posts.
“We have had a situation where senior people in administration were stagnant in their posts while new people were given much more senior posts.”
Rulashe’s fraud charges relate to a R2.5-million donation ADM made in 2015 to her event, the Miss Amathole Heritage beauty pageant.
She was arrested early last year, together with ADM’s former mayor Nomasikizi Konza, who is accused of getting kickbacks from the donation.
In the dock with them are Sigcinile Saba, Mawande Njeza and Rulashe’s younger sister, Anita. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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