The DA picketed outside the Komani town hall as the Enoch Mgijima municipally council was about to hold its special council meeting yesterday.
The sitting was called for a report-back about the auction which saw the municipality’s vehicles sold last Friday to try and settle the R58-million debt owed by the municipality to Milowo Trading Enterprise.
The DA member’s carried placards that read “Corruption equal jails now”, and “Clean government, service delivery now”.
DA MP and Enoch Mgijima constituency leader Terri Stander said the picket was a call for a change in government.
“We are trying to wrap up our efforts to force change. We started with a picket today and we are going to have a community march next week where people will stand for change,” he said.
Briefing the councillors, municipal manager Chris Magwangqana said the matter had been investigated by Deloitte South Africa, but their report did not say how much the project had cost.
“That also was a result of poor record-keeping at that time. However, the report said the municipality had to resort to seeking legal advice.”
He said there was an agreement which was negotiated by the municipality’s attorney and signed by an official on behalf of the municipality last year.
“He said there was a letter of demand which was not honoured by the municipality and that led to a summons and later the auction. We instructed our lawyers to challenge the matter and it was taken to court and while the judgment is still pending, the auction went ahead,” Magwangqana said.
He said if they lost the case they would have to pay the money and if they won, the municipality would have to be put in the same state as it was before the auction.
UDM councillor Mthuthuzeli Hokolo blamed the problems of the municipality on the amalgamation.
DA councillor Chris de Wet said: “The claim was instituted in February and the municipality did not defend it. Also, what the municipal manager Chris Magwangqana is saying to council is not the same thing as he said in the court papers. He lied to us,” De Wet said.
He said if they had defended the case in time, the assets could have been saved.
“Magwangqana should consider resigning with immediate effect,” he said.
DA councillor Zuko Mandile said the people who were responsible for the debt to Milowo should be called to account.
“There were people throughout this process, so that we can deal with them. In the next council meeting we need a proper report. Also there was money allocated by former Lukhanji municipality to settle all the debt of the municipality and I would think Milowo Trading would be part of the companies that were going to be paid,” he said.
Mandile called for a forensic audit into the spending of the money.
ANC councillor Noluthando Nqabisa said the Enoch Mgijima municipality council never entered into a settlement agreement with any service provider.
“We appointed an attorney to defend the matter in court but she did not go to defend the matter because she was the one who drafted the settlement agreement. We have sufficient evidence to strengthen our case and also we have figures,” she said.
Nqabisa also accused other ANC councillors for working with Milowo Trading Enterprise in their court bid.
Magwangqana asked for council to give them an opportunity to be defeated in court and not in council.
“Don’t try to defeat us in a council meeting,” he said.
He said after the court matter was finalised, he would bring all the documents to council.
Executive mayor Sisisi Tolashe said he was happy that they had dealt with the matter as council.
“We are all equally worried and frustrated about what happened on Friday as it was a sad day to me as an ANC activist.
“This was a setback from our vision of 1912 that seeks to better the lives of our people,” she said.
She said the council had given Magwangqana the go-ahead to represent them in court to make sure that the municipality was not a victim of daylight robbery.
“We applaud the braveness that you approach the courts and it should be the courts that say we must pay the money,” she said. — tembiles@dispatch.co.za..