DA lays fraud, perjury charges against muni officials

Update

KNYSNA NEWS - The DA has laid charges of fraud and perjury against high-ranking political office bearers at Knysna Municipality.

Dr Dion George, DA Constituency Head for Knysna, confirmed in a statement on Monday 5 December that charges were laid at the Knysna police station against two members of the ruling ANC coalition in the Knysna Council - Knysna Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa and Speaker Mncedisi Skosana.

These followed earlier charges that had been laid against Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi and two municipal officials - Acting Municipal Manager Roland Butler and Acting Director of Corporate Services Luvuyo Loliwe. All five had charges laid for fraud and perjury.

This follows a judgment in an urgent application by the DA to stop payment by the municipality to eight political appointees in the Western Cape High Court last week, in which Judge Robert Henney said respondents had committed a "fraud on the court".

"In his affidavit (during the urgent application), councillor Marbi swore under oath that the former acting municipal manager had signed employment contracts for the cadres, and therefore were employees at the municipality, knowing this was untrue," the statement read.

"Councillor Tsengwa and Skosana swore under oath that they were aware of the affidavit submitted by councillor Marbi and that it was true. Both knew that it was not." George said the first action of the ANC/Patriotic Alliance/PBI/EFF "Coalition of Corruption", after ousting the DA-led government, "was to illegally change the council organogram to add eight new positions that it then filled with cadres deployed by the ANC, Patriotic Alliance and PBI, without following any due process.

"This included the wife and brother of Patriotic Alliance and PBI senior officials."

George said the illegal changes to the organogram and employment process form part of Part B of the DA's application to court, which will be heard early next year. He said the money to pay the political appointees "was meant to fund temporary employment for unemployed Knysna youth during the high season".

He added that disciplinary action will be taken against Butler and Loliwe, as municipal employees, and that code of ethics violation charges will follow for the 11 councillors who voted to pay the salaries, even though they had a legal opinion advising them against payment.

"The DA will not stand by while the ANC/Patriotic Alliance/PBI/EFF Coalition of Corruption attempts to capture our town and steal hardworking ratepayers' money to fund jobs for their political cronies."

Knysna Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi