I REFER to the front page report of the 25 August edition of the Paarl Post regarding the suspension of two senior municipal officials, which cannot go without comment or interrogation.
Issues of supply-chain management and procurement (such as the procurement of flags for the Soccer World Cup) is NOT a function of any political structure of any municipal council, but the report tends to ignore this fact and wants to deliberately vilify the ANC.
The report omitted the fact that two independent investigations had already been done and that the findings of those investigations were ignored by the DA after the May elections when they came into power.
Instead, what the DA did was to cherry-pick certain phrases from the report of the Attorney General when tabling their findings at the council meeting.
I need to emphasise that the Office of the Attorney General is an independent institution which has given a clean bill of health to the finances of Drakenstein Municipality for three consecutive years.
This action of the DA is viewed with grave concern and is not convincing in its “quest” to “eradicate any signs of corruption or wastage of tax-payers’ money”.
The latest suspension and investigation is contributing to the escalating costs and may well exceed the R600 000 (not R1 million, as reported) under investigation.
The costs of the newly-appointed acting municipal manager may also contribute to fruitless and wasteful expenditure and it is high time for the DA to inform the public of the total cost of all these investigations.
I am convinced that our communities deserve to be presented with ALL the facts.
This will enable them to make up their own minds about the true motives of the DA.
Charmaine Manuel
ANC councillor
Drakenstein
