Johannesburg - A mayor in the North West has been accused of extorting money from service providers for his personal interests.
Sources this week claimed that Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality mayor Khumalo Molefe allegedly extorted money from local service providers and is allegedly using the funds to build 'a compound.'
Sources said he also bought his wife a BMW and several cars, including a Toyota Hilux. They claimed this was after service providers were called to a secret meeting with Molefe and requested to donate money.
The sources said these are businesses that are currently providing services for the municipality. Asked if these are some of the contracts he issued last year, the sources said it was not clear.
“He has been in the office for over a year now and he is building another double-storey house. He also bought his wife a BMW X3, a Toyota Hilux, and a couple of vehicles for himself,” said the sources.
They added: “He has been meeting with the service providers regularly. He started by calling them privately into a meeting in Mmabatho, where he had one-on-one meetings."
They said Molefe has been receiving payments from the service providers since he met with them.
“There is a list of payments that have been made to him every week. He works with someone in the finance department and they always update him after payments are made. This person needs to be stopped. He is getting out of hand with his behaviour. Right now, he is trying to control everything that has to do with service providers in the municipality,” the sources said.
Last year, Molefe shocked his ANC comrades after he dished out at least five contracts shortly after he was elected. He is said to have done the same again a few months later.
The issuing of the contracts allegedly happened in a business forum meeting in Deelpan, where Molefe allegedly issued instructions to two officials from his office, who present were at the meeting, to share the needs of the municipality with local contractors.
The contracts were then issued to different companies, which then invoiced the mayor's office directly for payment.
Molefe on Saturday threatened to take legal action against the publication should the story be published. when he was sent questions. He said he would even report the matter to the Ombudsman.
“There are no service providers summoned to my office to solicit funding, these allegations are not true and amount to character assassination, and if not retracted will reserve my right for recourse including reporting to the applicable Ombudsman for appropriate relief,” said Molefe.
“This is a coordinated fightback campaign by a cartel of business people, politicians, and municipal officials who are implicated in the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) referrals and the Auditor General's material irregularity findings. My biggest sin was to push for action. They are desperately trying to divert attention by muddying our faces in order to put the ANC in a corner to remove us from the office. I will certainly take legal counsel on the necessary to restore my reputation.”
However, he confirmed that he is currently building a house for his family, but denied the allegations saying they were devoid of truth and unfounded. He said the house is single-story.
“You are advised that the housing project is funded by a combined family remuneration and supplemented by other additional sources (of income) and a legally accepted financial facility. The allegations that the service providers are responsible for financing my house are not true and are tantamount to defamation. In that way, they are formulated to paint a picture that I cannot provide for my family,” said Molefe.
The Sunday Independent also sent questions to the North West Cooperate Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Nono Maloyi who did not respond. Attempts to reach out to the municipality spokesperson Lehlohonolo March were also unsuccessful.
Despite denying any wrongdoing or being involved in corruption, residents of townships under the municipality took to the streets during the week to protest against a lack of water.
Residents in the villages Lehurutshe, Lekubu and Supingstad near Zeerust, barricaded roads demanding an end to persistent water shortages. Political heads in the areas blamed corruption for the challenges faced by the communities.
Locals said the challenges should be blamed on the Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality (NMMDM) as they are the agency responsible for supplying water to the residents. It is reported that almost R1 billion has been used to fix the water problem but there is still no water.