Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Johannes Le Grange
Fraud and corruption continue to thrive unabated under the current leadership, it has exacerbated since the arrival of the two Provincial Executive Representatives (PER). The PER is a team that is voluntarily appointed to assist and give advice on financial decision-making. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Matlosana has reported unauthorized payments made to MAXPROF to the Hawks for investigation.
During the Ordinary Meeting held on the 31st of March 2025, the DA was amazed by the presentation made by the PER, when they claimed achievements since assuming their responsibility in the municipality in January 2024, specifically claiming to have curbed 3 prohibited types of expenditure. This is a misrepresentation, as the latest Annual Report and various Financial Reports demonstrate a municipality in “autopilot” mode.
The DA queried a payment to the amount of R 3 496 835.92 to MAXPROF for completing a VAT 201 form that is system generated, dated 6 September 2024. The service provider’s 36-month legal contract had lapsed on the 20th of June 2023, with the unlawful emergency “12 months extension” also having run out on the 23rd of June 2024. MAXPROF did not have any valid legal contract with the municipality from the 24th of June 2024 to date. This has raised concerns among the DA due to the impunity of criminal and fraudulent conduct by the municipal officials in collusion with this service provider.
It was clear that the DA was ahead when the Executive Mayor, Fikile Mahlope, requested the Council Speaker, Stella Mondlane-Ngwenya, not to allow discussion for the item in question and reprimanded the DA for planning to report the specific item to the media.
Upon further investigation, the DA discovered that MAXPROF performed another VAT recovery in December 2024, still without a valid contract. MAXPROF has submitted another invoice for the amount of R4 150 574.62. This particular invoice from January 2025 remains unpaid because the municipal officials are aware that the Hawks are investigating this contract.
The officials have committed fraud in terms of Regulation 36, which was submitted and reported late to the council. This includes the report covering the period June to August 2024, which was received as part of the MFMA Section 52(d) and 72 Reports and tabled in January 2025.
The Maine report tabled in council a month ago revealed that duplicate payments to the amount of R 292 million were made between 1 July 2023 and 31 March 2024.
The DA continues to fight the abuse of using the Municipal Finance Management Act Regulation 36 as a vehicle to loot the municipality under the pretext of an emergency. The DA will hold top political leadership and management in the municipality accountable for benefiting substantially from this corruption, when the residents can barely afford to pay for services.