Cape Town - A warrant of arrest has been issued for former ANC MPL Danville Smith after he failed to appear at the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court.
However, on Thursday evening, Smith told the Cape Argus that he had been in court in Vredendal on a different matter and that he was unaware of the warrant of arrest.
He said he would clear up what he called “the confusion”.
Approached for comment about the arrest warrant for Smith, ANC provincial Chief Whip Pat Lekker said: “I’m sure the political leadership will shed some light; this is outside my jurisdiction.”
ANC’s Interim Provincial Working Committee (IPWC) convenor Lerumo Kalako had no comment.
At the same time, a warrant of arrest for Smith’s co-accused in the matter, Peter Blankenberg, was held over as he had a medical certificate.
NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the case has been postponed until September 5.
The pair are charged with corruption, fraud, contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act in a case from 2016 when Smith was Cedarberg Municipality speaker and Blankenberg was a district committee member of Ward 5 for Lamberts Bay for Clanwilliam Municipality.
In the court case, the two are accused of pocketing R25 000 after submitting an invoice from a company worth R28 200 and getting one of the owners of the company to keep R3 200, despite the company not rendering a service.
Blankenberg also faces charges of not disclosing that his brother was a director of one of the companies that was paid nearly R30 000 for sound and entertainment.
According to the charge sheet, Blankenberg approached a company to submit an invoice for food parcels which was submitted two days after the event and the amount paid a day later, despite there not being any food parcels provided.
Last year Smith, who denies the accusations, voluntarily stepped aside from the ANC.
Acknowledging that Smith had stepped aside as per the party’s rules governing members charged with serious crimes, Kalako said that this meant that for more than a year, the ANC had been unable to “reap benefits from his participation as a member of the provincial legislature”.
Kalako also said that based on the gravity of the car theft charges and the fact that he had been charged again, the Working Committee had resolved to suspend Smith and had referred the matter to the provincial disciplinary committee for adjudication.