City Press reports that the council of the Emalahleni Local Municipality has played down the fact that seven of 20 traffic officer graduates have been found to be related to a former mayor, councillors and regional ANC leaders.
A leaked investigative report concluded that it could not be proved that any of the interns linked to politicians benefited from “improper advantage”. However, the council has given a commitment to referring the matter to the ethics committee for further investigation, notwithstanding concluding that ‘who you know’ and family relations should not be an “unfair advantage” or “disadvantage” to opportunities offered by the municipality. The local branch of the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) raised the alarm last week when the municipality published photos of the graduates in full uniform. They had studied at the Mpumalanga Traffic Training College in Bushbuckridge at a cost of R2 million – of which R285,000 was spent as monthly stipends of R1,500 for each intern. Emalahleni spokesperson Lebohang Mofokeng denied that the municipality had employed the graduates and said that they obtained the uniforms from the college. During a feedback meeting with Sanco on Friday, the council was reluctant to give its report to the civic organisation. “We rejected the report because it neither had the logo nor signature of the individual who signed it off,” said Bongani Hlophe of Nkangala Sanco. The report indicated as follows: “While a relationship was confirmed in some cases, we could not conclusively establish whether unfair advantage was induced by improper conduct or interference and undue influence. However, due to the seriousness and gravity of the allegations, and on a balance of probabilities, we will further subject the allegations to the ethics committee which will make recommendations to the council.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sizwe Sama Yende on page 7 of City Press of 2 February 2020
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