Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Western Cape legislature descended into a screaming match between the ANC and DA on Thursday afternoon as Members of the Provincial Parliament debated the recently released 2021/22 Auditor-General (AG) municipal audit outcomes report.
The ANC launched a scathing attack on the DA-led administration, saying the “evidence shows that DA good governance is a lie”.
The leader of the opposition in the legislature, Cameron Dugmore, said: “What is more telling are the shocking attempts by the DA leadership to cover up this corruption and attack those who are exposing the DA from within.
“These are the signs of a dying party. A party that has become arrogant with power and, in truth, think that they are above the law,” Dugmore said.
AG Tsakani Maluleke revealed earlier this month that, of the 257 municipalities in the country, only 38 had a clean audit.
In the Western Cape, local municipalities received clean audits, with no findings, while six received clean audits, with findings.
“However, when a municipality achieves a clean audit, does this mean there is no corruption, nepotism or fraud? No, it does not. Does a clean audit imply that the municipality concerned is delivering basic services to all, especially the poor and unemployed, and transforming the local economy? No, it does not,” Dugmore said.
Responding to Dugmore, the MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell, said: “There are challenges in many of our municipalities that we are working on; we are not blind to the crime and poverty in our communities. Most of our towns have the opportunities to thrive, but many of them are doing the opposite, many residents are moving to the big cities.”
Highlighting the ANC’s faults, Bredell told Dugmore that the ANC had failed the country.
Bredell said:
The national Parliament portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs was briefed by law enforcement agencies.
During the briefing, it emerged the City had four of the 14 cases registered across the country.
Among the cases mentioned during the briefing was a construction tender fraud case, which is before the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
It involves directors and employees of Ilitha Painters and Decorators, trading as The Construction Company, and two City officials.
The mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, told News24 on Thursday that tough questions should be asked of SAPS as to why only 14 cases of municipal corruption were being investigated in the whole of South Africa.
“The real number is many, many multiples of that. I really don’t mind them investigating four cases in Cape Town. In fact, I welcome it. I hope they catch anyone who is guilty and lock them away. We have absolutely zero tolerance for corruption,” he said.
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