A confidential King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality report into the use of municipal funds for a controversial 2024 trip to Durban has drawn more senior ANC politicians into the fallout, including council speaker Nomamfengu Siyo-Sokutu and chief whip Bongani Mlanjeni.
The leaked ad hoc committee report, seen by the Daily Dispatch, details R94,189.05 spent on travel and accommodation for councillors, officials and support staff who travelled to KwaZulu-Natal at the time of an ANC election manifesto launch.
It comes as former KSD mayor Nyaniso Nelani and four others face fraud-related charges arising from expenditure on the same trip.
The report names Siyo-Sokutu and Mlanjeni among those who travelled to Durban, along with human settlements and disaster management portfolio head Nombulelo Sibeko and former technical services portfolio head Ziyanda Nokayi, who has since died.
However, Siyo-Sokutu strongly disputes the report’s findings, saying the committee exceeded its mandate and failed to follow proper procedures.
She denied attending the ANC manifesto event, saying that though she was in Durban at about the same time, she had attended a separate event in Umhlanga on behalf of the municipality.
According to the report, more than R30,000 was spent on Mlanjeni’s travel and accommodation, including more than R7,000 relating to his driver, while more than R8,000 was spent on Sibeko.
Municipal funds were also used for Nelani’s entourage, including two drivers, his chief of staff and personal assistant.
The ad hoc committee was established to investigate how municipal money came to be spent on the Durban trip.
Its report was handed over to the rules and ethics committee and was supposed to be formally presented and dicussed in council last month. But a meeting expected to consider the findings was postponed after Siyo-Sokutu received a letter from Mlanjeni’s lawyers arguing that he had not been afforded an opportunity to present his version.
The report details difficulties the committee says it experienced obtaining evidence from some councillors and officials, with some of those summoned failing to appear, citing busy schedules.
It also complained about budget constraints and said the committee had been unable to travel to Durban to investigate the circumstances under which the expenditure was incurred.
Siyo-Sokutu and Mlanjeni were among those invited to appear and sought explanations about why their evidence was required, according to the report.
Sibeko testified that she had hitchhiked from Mthatha to Durban to attend to municipal business.
The report says she could not recall the name of the official in Nelani’s office who had invited her and had not been given details of the meeting she was expected to attend.
The investigation into the trip has already resulted in criminal proceedings against five people.
Nelani, who resigned as mayor last month, his personal assistant Sibongile Moyi, municipal manager Ngamela Pakade, former chief financial officer Fudumele Jiholo and Cwenga Songelwa, a former personal assistant to deputy minister Zoleka Capa, recently appeared in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on fraud-related charges involving R57,000.
They were served with summonses by the Hawks in June.
The charges relate to municipal expenditure on the Durban trip, which followed an invitation Nelani received from the deputy minister’s office to attend a back-to-school campaign.
Nelani and Pakade have since written to the Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions asking for the charges against them to be withdrawn.
UDM councillors have also attempted to open a criminal case against Siyo-Sokutu and Mlanjeni over their alleged involvement in the trip.
Siyo-Sokutu told the Dispatch the ad hoc committee’s report was flawed because its investigation went beyond the terms of reference approved by council.
“The terms of reference were clear and mentioned the executive mayor [Nelani] at the time and two mayoral committee members [Sibeko and Nokayi] who went to Durban saying they went to a back-to-school campaign.
“There were gaps in the report when it was submitted,” she said.
Siyo-Sokutu said that when the report came before council and she saw she had been named, she and Mlanjeni recused themselves from the deliberations.
“When it was submitted, I was chairing the council meeting and when I saw my name, I asked to be recused from deliberations along with the chief whip [Mlanjeni].
“When we came back, we were never informed of the discussions that had transpired.
“After the council meeting, I learnt that it included a recommendation that those implicated must pay back the money.”
The report was subsequently referred to the rules and ethics committee because councillors were named in its findings.
Siyo-Sokutu alleged that members of the ad hoc committee had also been replaced and new members introduced without council’s approval.
She said the committee had improperly extended its investigation to municipal officials when its mandate related specifically to Nelani, Nokayi and Sibeko.
“There was no mandate for the other councillors, as the ethics committee deals with the ethical conduct of councillors.
“The committee, however, sat and took resolutions about the administration.
“That was never part of the scope of its work.”
Siyo-Sokutu further claimed the committee had failed to form a quorum during parts of its investigation and had incorrectly submitted its report directly to council rather than through her office.
“You cannot just take this flawed report to the council as it is,” she said.
“I am still in the process of ensuring that all processes are followed as required and the flaws are corrected, which means there might even be more delays in having the report go to council.”
Sibeko could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Mlanjeni said he would respond after questions were sent to him but had not done so by the time of publication.
Daily Dispatch
