AfriForum today submitted criminal charges against both Andrina Matsemela, Mayor of the Mogalakwena Local Municipality, and Charles Malema, Chief Financial Officer of the Municipality, at the Mokopane Police Station in Potgietersrus. This follows after Matsemela allegedly spent approximately R1,5 million of municipal funds on her birthday party.
The civil rights organisation is demanding that the police investigate these allegations to determine if Matsemela and Malema made themselves guilty of corruption, among others.
The Auditor-General’s annual municipal audit report for 2017/2018 indicated that municipalities’ unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenses increased to R122 billion.
“This report furthermore indicates that the Mogalakwena Local Municipality is the second biggest offender with respect to overspending. This Municipality spent a baffling R1,12 billion more than their budget. Municipal officials can no longer be allowed to squander taxpayers’ money in such a manner. That is why AfriForum regards these allegations against Matsemela in a very serious light and expects the police to carefully investigate the matter. We will also be monitoring the matter and regularly enquire about the progress of the police investigation,” says Natasha Venter, Campaign Officer at AfriForum’s Anti-Corruption Unit.
“Service delivery in the Mogalakwena district is utterly poor and in the past there already was various allegations of corruption and incompetence against the mayor. AfriForum supports communities to eliminate this type of misappropriation. If Matsemela used municipal funds to fund her birthday party, it proves that she has no respect for the residents in the Mogalakwena district, seeing as R1,5 million could have been put to use much better to deliver services,” says David Rule, AfriForum’s Coordinator for Limpopo.