Troubled Buffalo City Metro chief financial officer Vincent Pillay will be granted seven days to explain why he should not be suspended as a result of the release of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report into the Nelson Mandela funeral scandal.
This after the Eastern Cape ANC provincial executive committee took a decision earlier this week that its deployees should implement Mkhwebane’s recommendations.
Damning findings were made against Pillay by Mkhwebane when she released the probe in December looking into how millions of rands of state funds were misused and irregularly spent in BCM leading up to the funeral of the former president in 2013.
Now the BCM council may suspend Pillay according to a “top secret” report leaked to the Saturday Dispatch which was tabled during this week’s council meeting.
However before that process starts, he has to be given a letter informing him of the intention to suspend him.
When the Dispatch contacted Pillay yesterday, he said: “It is the first time I am hearing of this. I am in shock and don’t have any comment for you at this moment.”
In the report which was written by city manager Andile Sihlahla, it was recommended that Pillay be suspended “pending the finalisation of the disciplinary action” to be taken against him.
Mkhwebane found: “He acted in violation of the provision of the municipal supply chain management regulations and the supply chain management policy of the BCM. His conduct constituted financial misconduct as contemplated by the MFMA and the municipal supply chain regulations resulting in irregular expenditure for the BCM.”
Mkhwebane further stated that she issued Pillay with a notice on September 12 2017 informing him about the information and evidence implicating him that was in her possession to afford him a further opportunity to respond.
Although Pillay was expected to respond on September 22, he did not. He later responded on December 1. However Mkhwebane said even then he did not appear to differentiate between private political party interests and those of the state.
He reportedly argued that he was “merely attempting to fulfil his duties as a CFO”.
“He again, confirmed that the executive mayor initially could not provide him and the city manager with an estimate of the expenditure that the municipality was to incur in respect of the funeral of former president Mandela. Instead she referred them to the ANC. This he did not regard as unusual,” Mkhwebane said in her report.
Asked about his take on Mkhwebane’s findings, Pillay said “those are just their opinions”.
The EFF which had tabled a matter of exigency concerning the scandal which also implicated Ncitha, senior ANC councillors Sindiswa Gomba, Luleka Simon-Ndzele and suspended ANC regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, welcomed the disciplinary action to be taken against Pillay. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
CFO must please explain or else ...
This after the Eastern Cape ANC provincial executive committee took a decision earlier this week that its deployees should implement Mkhwebane’s recommendations.
Damning findings were made against Pillay by Mkhwebane when she released the probe in December looking into how millions of rands of state funds were misused and irregularly spent in BCM leading up to the funeral of the former president in 2013.
Now the BCM council may suspend Pillay according to a “top secret” report leaked to the Saturday Dispatch which was tabled during this week’s council meeting.
However before that process starts, he has to be given a letter informing him of the intention to suspend him.
When the Dispatch contacted Pillay yesterday, he said: “It is the first time I am hearing of this. I am in shock and don’t have any comment for you at this moment.”
In the report which was written by city manager Andile Sihlahla, it was recommended that Pillay be suspended “pending the finalisation of the disciplinary action” to be taken against him.
Mkhwebane found: “He acted in violation of the provision of the municipal supply chain management regulations and the supply chain management policy of the BCM. His conduct constituted financial misconduct as contemplated by the MFMA and the municipal supply chain regulations resulting in irregular expenditure for the BCM.”
Mkhwebane further stated that she issued Pillay with a notice on September 12 2017 informing him about the information and evidence implicating him that was in her possession to afford him a further opportunity to respond.
Although Pillay was expected to respond on September 22, he did not. He later responded on December 1. However Mkhwebane said even then he did not appear to differentiate between private political party interests and those of the state.
He reportedly argued that he was “merely attempting to fulfil his duties as a CFO”.
“He again, confirmed that the executive mayor initially could not provide him and the city manager with an estimate of the expenditure that the municipality was to incur in respect of the funeral of former president Mandela. Instead she referred them to the ANC. This he did not regard as unusual,” Mkhwebane said in her report.
Asked about his take on Mkhwebane’s findings, Pillay said “those are just their opinions”.
The EFF which had tabled a matter of exigency concerning the scandal which also implicated Ncitha, senior ANC councillors Sindiswa Gomba, Luleka Simon-Ndzele and suspended ANC regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, welcomed the disciplinary action to be taken against Pillay. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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