Today, 20 February 2020, I was joined by DA Councillors Morne Steyn and Gustav Rautenbach, in laying criminal charges against NMB Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Infrastructure and Engineering, ANC Cllr Andile Lungisa, for contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) after allegedly getting involved in municipal tender processes.

A recent letter sent by MMC Lungisa, to local companies, shows him deliberately flouting municipal laws by inviting companies to tender for a construction plant.

In accordance with the MFMA, councillors are not supposed to be involved in anything related to tenders and can be criminally charged if they are found to do so.

In terms of section 117 of the MFMA, a councillor may not be a member of a municipal bid committee or any other committee evaluating or approving tenders, quotations, contracts or other bids, nor attend any such meeting as an observer.

Also, in terms of section 118(a) of the MFMA, no person may interfere with the supply chain management system of a municipality or municipal entity.

In spite of MMC Lungisa’s denial with regards to sending this letter and promising an internal investigation, the possible criminality involved necessitates that the police investigates this issue as a matter of urgency.

The councillors code of conduct as contained in  Schedule 1 of the Municipal Systems Act also states that no councillor is allowed to get involved in the administration of a municipality.

I have already written to the Speaker, Cllr Buyelwa Mafaya and requested that this issue be referred to the rules and ethics committee for further investigation and a decision be taken on whether Cllr Lungisa should be sanctioned by council.

We call on the police to act swiftly against anyone found to be guilty and ensure they face the full might of the law.

Under the ANC-led coalition of corruption, the Metro has seen a massive decline in its financial stability and its ability to deliver basic services. The City is riddled with corruption and acts of criminality.

When the DA governed Nelson Mandela Bay, we delivered services, stamped out corruption and ensured that the City was financially stable. All this hard work was undone within two years by the ANC-led coalition of corruption.

Only a DA government can save Nelson Mandela Bay from administrative and financial collapse and ensure clean governance, financial stability and speed up the delivery of basic services.

 

Issued by The DA