COPE in uMgungundlovu – The fight against corruption
 

COPE KZN recently held a strategic provincial conference to determine the way forward for the party in the province.  Among the issues discussed was the alarming increase of incidents of intimidation against COPE members.
 
The following resolutions were made:
 

1.  COPE will not allow South Africa to go the way of other failed states on the continent.  We will fight against corruption and misuse of public resources.  We call for a return to leadership and public accountability.  We offer voters a choice, so that they can hold their representatives accountable.

2.  COPE is a post-liberation modern political party that adheres to social democratic principles.  Development will be brought about using holistic, people-driven methods, using empowerment instead of welfarism.

3.  COPE in uMgungundlovu will undertake an aggressive campaign to build branches with credible leadership that works with civil society.  
 

These are some of the issues that COPE in uMgungundlovu will be tackling in the near future:
 
 

The Msunduzi Municipality has announced it is left with only enough money to sustain its operations for one more week. A task team has been appointed to turn this around,  but COPE feels that any intervention will be completely ineffective unless the rampant corruption within the municipality is tackled head on. Some examples of corruption and mismanagement in the municipality:
 

• Thirty-eight councilors have not declared their business interests, as required by the Code of Conduct.  We are aware of some councilors who have created debt collection agencies, which are being paid by the municipality to collect debts, but additionally add charges to those debts.  These agencies, owned by councilors, are collecting double debts. This is nothing more than a crass form of extortion.
   
• Overtime pay claimed by officials in the council have exceeded the budget by more than R32 million.  Some employees have claimed R140 000 in the space of only three months.
   
• The municipality has irregularly spent R4 million; R90 million has been lost through non-payment of water and electricity accounts, with the main culprits being municipal and government departments; failure to account for revenue from a mining agreement; liabilities of R17 million that are unaccounted for.
   
• Tenders have been approved that are not in the budget – including a R240 Million meter-reading system that failed where it was applied in the Nelson Mandela Metropole.  The question must be asked why a failed system was bought for the municipality, and which relatives of politicians in KZN have benefited from these tenders.
   
• There is an allegation that has surfaced far too often to be ignored:  if a job applicant is not able to produce an ANC membership card they are ineligible for municipal jobs.  Additionally, the job is awarded before being advertised and the selection process is undertaken only to give the appearance of complying with procedure.
   
• There is the issue of a council meeting that lasted for one and half hours, held in Eastwood, that cost R1,8 million.  We find it hard to understand how a single meeting can cost that much.  This needs to be investigated.
   
• In the Umgeni Municipality, the Speaker and Deputy Mayor were found guilty of fraud concerning RDP houses.  However, instead of expelling these members from their party, the ANC merely demoted them.  They are still in council with lucrative jobs.  This sends the wrong message to the people of the region who depend on honest officials for effective service delivery.  
   
  Apart from putting the spotlight on mismanagement and corruption, COPE will also be exposing the abuse of state resources for party interests such as the food parcels and part time jobs that are handed out to reward party loyalty. We will additionally be campaigning against the decision to write off the debt to Ithala Bank, owed by members of Parliament, MECs and their relatives.  Debts to office-bearers cannot simply be written off, especially as Ithala Bank is funded by the taxpayer. 
  We invite members of the public to join hands with COPE to expose and reverse corruption and mismanagement in our municipalities.  We support the call for a lifestyle audit of our politicians and their families.  We stand for clean and efficient local government, as this is what people voted for.
   
   
  
  For more information, please call Mxolisi Ndumbini, COPE regional secretary at 073 635 6285

Written by :

Lerato Modisane