JB Marks Mayor should resign following Hawks arrest or face motion of no confidence

Issued by Cllr Chris Hattingh – DA Constituency Head: JB Marks Local Municipality
26 Oct 2020 in Press Statements

Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Chris Hattingh, DA Constituency Head for the JB Marks Local Municipality.

The Executive Mayor for the JB Marks Local Municipality, Cllr Khotso Khumalo, should tender his resignation with immediate effect following his arrest by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Friday, failing which, the Democratic Alliance (DA) will table a motion of no-confidence in him.

It is outrageous that the ANC can claim to be shocked at arrests of its deployed cadres when the DA has repeatedly made the ANC aware of financial misconduct implicating Mayor Khumalo and JB Marks municipal officials.

The ANC has throughout Mayor Khumalo’s tenure, not only defended him but also shielded him from being held accountable through DA motions and written questions, including questions relating to the charges he is facing, put formally in terms of the Rules of the Council.

Mayor Khumalo has survived three no-confidence motions brought by the DA with the protection of the ANC.

The chief ANC protectionists, Speaker Elias Mogoeemang, and the Mayoral Committee Member responsible for Finance, Cllr Kelvin Johnson, can be regarded as the major obstacles in the DA’s quest to achieve transparency and financial accountability in the JB Marks administration.

Speaker Mogoeemang, in contravention of the Council Rules simply fail to allow DA probing questions to appear on the order paper or to be responded to.

Cllr Kelvin Johnson, as the member responsible for Finance, if he was capable of fulfilling this important responsibility, should have been aware of the fraud, theft and corruption happening throughout his term of office, but failed to report it to Council. He should also have reported the existence of taxpayer funds held illegally in a lawyer’s trust account and of payments made directly from it evading the Council’s financial system and the Auditor-General’s audit.

In these circumstances, Mayor Khumalo’s appointment of Cllr Kelvin Johnson to serve as Acting Executive Mayor is not only an insult to the JB Marks Community but can be regarded as a continuation of the cadre driven clandestine financial system of the JB Marks administration – which has become notorious for evading scrutiny and accountability for years.

President Ramaphosa’s statement that deployed cadres implicated in fraud should “step aside” is inappropriate in this case implicating Mayor Khumalo, especially considering the overwhelming evidence against him supported by about 15 state witnesses.

The DA has been putting these transgressions on the table repeatedly, for many years now, and by the total disregard for transparency and accountability and the rule of law, the continued looting of public funds under Mayor Khumalo’s leadership is premeditated and deliberate, with the implicit consent of the ANC.

The DA will continue in our efforts to clean-up the JB Marks Municipality and to restore accountability and the rule of law, even if we have to continue laying criminal charges and enforce accountability through the criminal justice system.