The Democratic Alliance (DA) will refer the Dawid Kruiper Municipality’s controversial Eiland debt write-off of more than R2 million to the Office of the Auditor-General for investigation, as the municipality attempts to sweep the matter under the carpet.
This follows Council’s refusal last week to approve the DA’s urgent motion calling for decisive action on the unauthorised write-off, which bypassed Council entirely.
As a result, Council has yet to formally condemn the premature debt write-off, irregularly granted to Khethiwe Holdings by the tender adjudication committee. Nor has it taken any meaningful steps to hold the committee accountable for exceeding its mandate or to institute disciplinary action where warranted.
The municipality’s failure to treat this matter with the urgency it deserves will also delay the implementation of an independent forensic investigation by several months.
By turning a blind eye, Dawid Kruiper Municipality is effectively giving tacit approval to Khethiwe Holdings’ breach of contract, allowing the company to terminate its lease agreement on its own terms in an apparent attempt to evade rental arrears amounting to R5.9 million owed to the municipality.
Council’s actions, or lack thereof, demonstrate a troubling disregard for addressing the misappropriation of funds and combating corruption within the institution.
The DA will not rest until the municipality acknowledges and condemns wrongdoing in the irregular debt write-off, and takes the necessary action to set it aside, holds the tender adjudication committee accountable for exceeding its designated powers, and takes action to recoup funds owed to it by Khethiwe Holdings. Anything else will be daylight robbery, not just of municipal resources but ultimately of funds intended for service delivery to the people of Dawid Kruiper.