An Eastern Cape ANC councillor may find himself in hot water for allegedly living rent-free for the past three years in a beachfront chalet in KuGompo City.
The chalet is situated in the Gonubie Caravan Park Resort, which is owned by the Buffalo City Metro.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) may investigate the allegations involving BCM ward councillor Thulani Tempi, whose lengthy stay at the resort has reportedly resulted in the city losing more than R1.5m in potential revenue.
Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) chair, Songezo Zibi, confirmed on Thursday that he would be referring the matter to the SIU.
BCM bosses who appeared before Zibi’s committee on Wednesday denied any knowledge of the saga.
It is understood that Tempi, a Ward 45 councillor who was recently appointed the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana regional spokesperson, had been staying in the chalet since February 2023.
Numerous attempts to contact Tempi on his different contact numbers were unsuccessful on Thursday, and BCM spokesperson Bongani Fuzile had not responded to questions by the time of publication.
However, it is understood that Tempi checked out of the chalet on Thursday morning, just hours after the accusations surfaced in parliament.
The councillor’s stay at the resort was raised by Zibi, during a heated Scopa meeting that lasted more than 12 hours.
The meeting was attended by a high-powered BCM delegation led by mayor Princess Faku and city manager Mxolisi Yawa.
The metro bosses appeared before Scopa on Wednesday to account for several service delivery, financial management and audit-related matters.
When Zibi questioned the BCM delegation about Tempi’s alleged stay at the caravan park, Faku was quick to deny any knowledge of the matter.
Zibi confirmed on Thursday that his committee wanted the allegations to be probed further, saying he would write to the SIU, requesting it to initiate the process to investigate this and other matters.
These included the stalled Mdantsane swimming pool and the Water World Fun Park projects.
Zibi said the Tempi matter was brought to his committee’s attention after a tip-off from a whistleblower in the municipality.
“I am soon going to write to BCM management seeking information on this matter of this councillor.
“If we find out that they lied when they said they were not aware of it, there is going to be trouble.
“When I asked the BCM delegation about this, they all went silent, before the mayor responded and said she knew nothing about this.
“I further asked whether they were sure about their response, and the mayor confirmed that they were not aware of the matter, so we are going to ask the SIU to look into it.
“I wanted to register on record their views on this.”
The Scopa chair, who doubles as the leader of Rise Mzansi, said his committee had a memorandum of agreement with the SIU.
“It’s a list of things that we are going to ask the SIU to investigate in BCM.”
It has room service, meaning workers go and clean it every day, including changing the linen daily
A number of metro insiders who spoke to the Dispatch on Thursday confirmed the daily rent for the chalet Tempi had stayed in was about R1,489, or R41,692 a month.
This represents about R500,000 a year, or R1.5m for the three years the councillor allegedly occupied the chalet.
An insider said: “The fully furnished one-bedroom chalet, with a small kitchen and lounge that the councillor had been staying in since February 2023, costs R1,489 per night.
“It has room service, meaning workers go and clean it every day, including changing the linen daily.”
On Thursday, both ANC regional secretary Anele Lizo and council speaker Humphrey Maxegwana said they were unaware that Tempi had allegedly stayed at the resort without paying rent.
Maxegwana said: “I first heard about this during the Scopa meeting. I am yet to call the councillor, make a follow up and check the veracity of these claims.”
DA councillor Anathi Majeke said: “The DA is shocked and appalled to learn that councillor Tempi, a senior ANC member and close ally of the executive mayor, has [allegedly] been unduly benefiting from free accommodation at the Gonubie chalets.
“This revelation is a slap in the face to every resident in the metro and proves that the ANC has a complete disregard for municipal resources and assets.
“While Buffalo City residents struggle with crumbling infrastructure and soaring utility bills, it appears the mayor’s inner circle is treating public property as a private playground.
“The DA views this as a blatant violation of the code of conduct for councillors, which strictly prohibits using one’s office or municipal property for personal gain,” Majeke said.
“In 2025, the DA formally requested a provincial investigation into the Kiwane Resort, labelling it a bottomless money pit due to a total lack of transparency regarding occupancy and revenue.
“The Gonubie chalets underwent significant refurbishments following tenders in late 2023.
“It is unacceptable that taxpayer money was used to upgrade these facilities only for them to [allegedly] be handed over as ‘free perks’ to political elites.”
ATM councillor Mandisa Mashiya said: “The law must take its course if any of us as councillors or municipal officials are found to be abusing state resources.”.
UDM councillor Anele Skoti said the chalets were being used by the metro to generate revenue, “but if they are abused like this, that is detrimental to the city which is in serious need of any revenue that may come its way, due to its critical state of finances.
“This is tantamount to corruption.”
He said he and other councillors had been allowed to use the chalets for a few days when they were studying for exams, “but never for this long”.
Daily Dispatch
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