Polokwane Mayor John Makoro Mpe welcoming President Cyril Ramaphosa. He was with Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba and Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Polokwane Executive Mayor John Makoro Mpe has embarked on clean governance after the municipality lost over R500 million due to corrupt activities between 2008 and 2024.
Mpe’s predecessor former Polokwane Mayor and currently Justice Minister Thembi Simelane of President Cyril Ramapahosa’s 7th Government of National Unity (GNU) administration will have to explain herself what informed such maladministration, fraud, VBS bank shenanigans and corruption which give birth to calamity that raised eyebrows of the public.
While President Ramaphosa who recently visited Limpopo to engage with ANC leadership is applying his mind about what action is he going to take against Justice Minister Simelane following her VBS scandal, Polokwane Municipality instituted a forensic report after the city lost millions of rand due to systematic corruption, fraud and maladministration by officials and senior managers.
Bowman-Gilfillan investigation revealed how officials, senior managers, and contractors flaunted the supply chain process to siphon money from the municipality.
Mayor John Mpe made the report public during a media briefing in Polokwane last Tuesday which revealed that the municipality suffered a loss of over R500 million due to corrupt activities between 2008 and 2024. He said however that he is not gunning for anybody or subjecting anyone to witch-hunt tendencies.
“We gather here today following the Special Council meeting to reveal outcomes of forensic investigations. We are here ladies and gentlemen to reveal the outcome of forensic investigations which we acknowledge it’s a matter of huge public interest. We have always insisted, referring to the words of the former Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, that impunity and accounting cannot coexist. Good governance and accountability are the cornerstone of our municipality. We continue on our drive to deliver quality services to our residents. Over the years the municipality has been receiving qualified and adverse audit opinions. We have for the first time showed a sustained unqualified audit opinion for two years from qualified to unqualified opinion,” Mpe said.
“These are amongst others that were necessitated by the outcomes of audits and findings of the auditor general. We should also emphasize the point that our forensic investigations are always premised on the recommendations of Chapter 9 Institutions such as in this case – the Auditor General. This we must say to dispel misleading narratives that we are driven by witch-hunts. Moreover, our forensic investigations are always carried out by credible and independent forensic investigators with a reputable record and integrity. On 09 October 2023, the municipality through Bowmans initiated forensic investigations into various matters following concerns raised by the Auditor General and internal audits. These investigations follow investigations conducted in 2023 which reveal irregularities in our process as a municipality and recommendations of the initial investigation which is still under implementation as approved by Council.”
Bowman-Gilfillan painted a horrific picture which revealed that supply chain processes were flaunted, fingering some officials who colluded with service providers to balloon payments.
A dirty laundry by corrupt officials exposed that the city lost over R40 million in fraud and corruption during the construction of the Mankweng stadium.
Mpe who expressed his disgust said the city has started the process to recoup the money following serious allegations that the tender committee and senior managers inflated the initial amount of the construction with an extra R40 million.
He said the municipality needs to Institute some civil claim against the money that has been paid to Ditlou to ensure that it withhold any retention money that it still has on the contractors who were appointed.
Mpe further said: “We have also agreed that there might have to be further investigations into other issues related to this investigation in this case they seem to have been collusion,”
He also confirmed that the city lost over R100 million due to fraudulent overtime claims by some employees overtime while on leave and others claimed overtime for work not done.
“Here is a serious case of fraud from the outcome of the investigations, we’ve also agreed that we should as a municipality ensure that the 44 employees with questionable data from Home Affairs are verified because it was also found that there is someone in the municipality who has been on leave for five years. The municipality would have to do proper investigations and also make sure that disciplinary action will not only be limited to a person that has been on leave,” said Mpe who confirmed that the municipality has opened criminal cases against employees and senior managers who allegedly used ghost workers to claim salaries.
Polokwane Municipality lost over R15 million for 10 buses for Leeto la Polokwane that were bought but never delivered which involved two former senior managers and a senior manager who are charged for alleged corruption in the procurement of the city buses.
“We have prioritised building internal capacity and professionalizing our staff complement as key to achieve good governance and high performance. I’m sure most of you can note the improvement in terms of service delivery and the number of projects that we are implementing including the cleanliness of the city and building better roads in the urban and rural areas. As part of building capacity, we are also implementing a performance management system that is linked with a consequence management system to ensure that there is efficiency in the work that we do for our communities,” Mpe said.
“Allow me to now turn to the main issues which are the forensic investigations focussed on. I should at the outset mention that this is in addition to the investigations that were conducted which included the investigation on the buses that were purchased, but never delivered. Let me emphasize that regarding this report, which is finalised, we have already opened a criminal case against those who were involved and instituted disciplinary measures against those still in the employ of the municipality. These are amongst others that were necessitated by the outcomes of audits and findings of the auditor general.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa, Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, Premier Phophi Ramathuba and her cabinet with Polokwane Mayor and ANC Peter Mokaba Regional Chairperson John Makoro Mpe on their mission to accelerate clean governance.
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