PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A probe by forensic investigators into irregularities within Bitou Municipality concluded that officials within the office of the mayor had established a scheme to privately entertain themselves at several restaurants in Plettenberg Bay at the expense of the municipality.
Several officials were allegedly found involved in the scheme involving ordering and consuming alcohol and instructing staff of the restaurants to fraudulently alter the items on the invoices to reflect equivalent monetary value in meals or soft drinks.
In one instance a municipal official requested an open tab at a local restaurant, which would be paid by the municipality, for an event in 2017.
After the event had ended the official allegedly approached the owner to add a list of alcohol, including beer and whiskey, to the tab – alcohol which was then taken off the restaurant premises to another location. This amounted to about R27 000. The following day more food and alcohol, to the value of R10 000, were allegedly added to the same tab for another event. The amounts were however never paid according to the owner.
In 2018, on another occasion at a different local restaurant, a municipal official allegedly made a reservation for 30 municipal officials and ordered specific brands of whiskey including Johnny Walker Blue as well as Black and Glen Fiddich 18-year-old for the event.
Restaurant owners claim that only the official who made the booking, his wife and several children showed up for the event. They also claim that later that night the official requested to take alcohol in lieu of the food that had not been eaten by the guests. The request was allegedly denied.
Owners also claim incidents of harassment by specific municipal officials who threatened to close the restaurant down should they not adhere to requests.
The report recommended disciplinary action and criminal action against certain officials implicated in the matter.
Read a related article: Bitou Mayor implicated in dodgy deals
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