News24 reports that almost R600 million in grant funding has been withheld from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality by the National Treasury and the city is at risk of losing a further R388 million that is due before the end of July.
This is because Anele Qaba was named as the new chief executive of the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), which receives its mandate from the municipality. Qaba was the metro's executive director for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture (EDTA) and was suspended in June last year following alleged financial misconduct. However, the municipality finalised a settlement agreement with him in February this year and he received a golden handshake equivalent to the remuneration for the remaining 16 months of his employment contract. In a letter to the city manager, Dr Noxolo Nqwazi of the National Treasury expressed concerns about Qaba's new role and said this could lead to penalties for the city, such as conditional grant funding being withheld. The National Treasury pointed out that to its knowledge, Qaba was suspended on allegations of gross misconduct as it related to supply-chain management processes on the appointment of socio-economic consultants. The Treasury's Malijeng Ngqaleni indicated: “These processes about Mr Anele Qaba raise questions about the legality of the process on his appointment as the CEO of the agency.” The National Treasury also requested more insight in the form of reports pertaining to Qaba's suspension as the head of EDTA, the grounds on which the golden handshake was made, information about Qaba's formal qualifications as well as a council resolution for Qaba's appointment as MBDA CEO. Furthermore, it said Qaba's appointment should be suspended until such information was received. The mayor's office said that an internal process with the MBDA had commenced and, in the interim, they were “engaging with National Treasury regarding the release of the funding, as we are fully co-operating with them."
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Candice Bezuidenhout at News24 (subscriber access only)
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