Mayor speaks out on arrest

Amathole district municipality executive mayor Nomasikizi Khonza has for the first time publicly defended herself following her arrest on fraud charges by the Hawks on Monday.

A visibly emotional Khonza was speaking at her state of the district address at the Mlungisi Community Commercial Hall in Stutterheim yesterday.

This was confirmed by ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane. “We have a meeting with the executive mayor on Monday and we will be able to release a statement as the provincial ANC after the meeting,” Mabuyane said.

While Khonza was defending herself inside the venue a group of placard-carrying Economic Freedom Fighters members demonstrated outside.

The leader of the EFF group, Ayanda Mbambani, said they did not recognise Khonza as an eligible executive mayor of the district municipality any more.

“We are here because it has come to our attention that Khonza alongside some officials embezzled taxpayers’ money.

“We are here to support the community…how can someone that is accused of fraud be allowed to deliver the state of the district address?”

In her address, Khonza touched on the controversial ADM sanitation project terminated by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency after a Saturday Dispatch probe exposed how the contract was illegally awarded to Siyenza Group. “Following the termination of the main contract, the project is on standstill with payments that are due to service providers for the work done.

“We are...busy exploring other funding initiatives to complete the project,” Khonza said.

She announced that the municipality’s municipal infrastructure grant allocation of over R400-million will be used to repay the capital portion of the Development Bank of South Africa’s loan for sanitation projects. “Our overall budget allocation for the 2015-2016 financial year amounts to R1.872-billion.”