MUNWE points to the leaders and authorities of KwaZulu-Natal Municipality 42 out of 54 who are suffering from the scandal of money laundering that should be working to fix and fulfill the needs of the community, but it ends up working for the wrong.
That was said by the Chairman of Action SA KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Zwakele Mncwango, when he expressed his anger about the report issued by the Auditor General, Ms. Tsakani Maluleke, in the report he presented to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
In Ms. Maluleke’s report, it was revealed that only four municipalities were not found, namely Mhlathuze, Richmond, Umlalazi and King Cetshwayo.
It has also been revealed that 42 municipalities have wasted money estimated at R7.8 billion in the last financial year, and what is more worrying is that those municipalities are the ones who received the largest share of the budget received by KZN municipalities – as they received 88% of the R125.1 billion earmarked for municipalities.
Mncwango said this situation indicates that the country is ruled by leaders who are not ready to manage the country honestly, and the way they are acting shows that they do not care about the welfare and development of the community.
“It is an undeniable fact that one of the things that puts us where we are now is that some municipal authorities take money that should be helping the needs of the community, and invest it in their election campaigns – which is an act that is against the law.
“On the whole, it is clear that the leadership in power now needs to clean their armpits in the way they supervise the money for public assistance. It is clear that it is time to find the hand of a new leadership that will put the needs of the community first – because those who are there now have failed,” said Mncwango.
Mncwango revealed that what proves the untrustworthiness and lack of integrity of the municipalities is that it has now been two years since they filed a letter seeking clarification on the alleged employment of ghosts in the EPWP system.
This newspaper has seen the letter sent by Mncwango in July 2024, which he addressed to the Municipality of Thekwini asking what happened to those allegations, he revealed that the answer is still pending.
The Auditor General has revealed that in this group of municipalities that have corruption there are also the City Council of Durban, regional municipalities and municipalities that are the bases and pillars of the province’s economy.
It has also been revealed that there are 10 municipalities that have been in this group of poor performers for 10 years or more, which indicates the extent of the ongoing damage from this situation.