The Mantsopa Local Municipality under the leadership of Mayor, Mamsie Tsoene, is synonymous with unrecovered double payments to contractors, money going ‘missing’ as a result of slack IT firewalls, and questionable tenders. The DA has learned that another overpayment was made to a contractor installing toilets in Manyatseng, in July 2022.
The section 79 oversight finance committee was to convene and discuss the matter, but the meetings have been postponed without reason. Section 79 committee resolutions lawfully have to be implemented. In so doing, these bodies are structured to guide the administration to do effective service delivery and to act should this not happen. It is obvious, that the committees do not perform as required. Therefore, the administration is able to do whatever it wants without consequence. Public funds are left unprotected and open to corruption.
The DA raised their concerns over the allegations during an ordinary council sitting in August, but it was ignored. Subsequently, letters demanding information and answers relating to the overpayment, in terms of Council Rules and Orders are left unanswered. To date, this matter relating to R 500, 000 has been left unattended and swept under the carpet.
The DA in Mantsopa has given these structures enough time to shed light on the overpayment. We will submit this information to the MEC COGTA for answers and ensure the information is sent to the Auditor General for investigation.