The former mayor and chief financial officer (CFO) of a KwaZulu-Natal municipality and two others have been arrested on corruption and other charges over allegations the municipality made a R2 million payment without receiving anything in return.
Sanelisiwe Mhlophe (48), the CFO of the Emadlangeni municipality, and Hans Michael Dlamini (53), the director of Project Management Solutions Africa (PMSA) and Black Design Studio, were arrested on Tuesday.
The two were charged with fraud that allegedly occurred at the Emadlangeni Municipality dating back to 2019. The arrests were made by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks and Durban Serious Corruption Investigation Unit.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said Mhlophe was also charged with contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act, whereas Dlamini and his two companies were further charged with money laundering.
R2 million paid, no work done
According to police, Mhlophe and Dlamini were joined in the dock in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court by former mayor Lindile Mhlungu (42), and Musa Thwala. They also face corruption charges. Mhlungu was granted R10,000 bail while Thwala was granted R2,000 bail.
They will appear in court again on October 1. According to police, Mhlungu and Thwala were arrested on July 21. It is alleged that on July 10, 2019, Mhlungu introduced a service provider to do a presentation in respect of a feasibility study for the development of a mall at Utrecht. She allegedly instructed the former municipal manager to appoint the service provider. The municipal manager allegedly complied with her instruction, and proper Supply Chain Management processes were not followed.
A few weeks later, the service provider in question submitted an invoice of R2 million to Emadlangeni Municipality for payment. A purchase order was allegedly created, and the service provider paid. However, it is alleged that no work was done and the matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation.
Mhlongo said detectives worked together with the National Prosecuting Authority to make the arrests.
zainul.dawood@iol.co.za
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