Municipalities have been urged to adhere to the provisions of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act when recruiting personnel.
Chairperson of cooperative governance and traditional affairs portfolio, Fikile Xasa, said the Act provides that a municipal employee dismissed for financial misconduct may not be re-employed in any municipality for a period of ten years.
Xasa said the committee has noted media reports about law enforcement agencies making arrests of municipal officials suspected of fraud and corruption.
“The Hawks recently arrested three municipal officials in Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo and are looking for more suspects who siphoned R5.4 million from the municipality.
“The committee is aware of reports of Amathole District Municipality that has appointed an employee who is facing criminal charges.
“There are a number of cases in the North West province, too, where a municipal official has been arrested for theft of tender documents,” he said.
Xasa also said the incidents indicated commitment from the law enforcement agencies to curb crime in municipalities.
“The committee commends this commitment from law enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority.”
However, Xasa said the committee was concerned that the gains made by law enforcement agencies were thwarted by the lack of due diligence from municipalities which rehire municipal officials dismissed for fraud and corruption.
“This is concerning particularly as municipalities in South Africa are regressing in financial management and governance.
“The Auditor-General of South Africa has lamented the deteriorating financial state of municipalities for several years, and it seems as if there is no appetite for improvement from local government,” he said.
“The committee calls on municipalities to target qualified, ethical and principled persons when it recruits for municipal vacancies, particularly for management positions.
“This is in an effort to ensure that municipalities meet their mandate of being efficient, effective and transparent and that conform to constitutional values and principles,” Xasa added.
Cape Times
