Gratuity payments raise red flags

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Allegations of maladministration, corruption, fraud and/ or serious malpractice at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) have reached the ears of MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell.

GRDM Speaker Georlene Wolmarans made the announcement on Tuesday 26 April during a general council meeting, saying that she, as speaker of the district council, has received a letter from Bredell, granting her the opportunity to respond to seven allegations.

"I am not in a position to divulge what the allegations are, but I can say one of them is the gratuity payment that was made to the MM (Monde Stratu) as well as to former political office staff members in the previous term," said Wolmarans.

The gratuity payment to Stratu was listed in the financial statements of 30 June 2021, as just under R1-million (R979 000). The other gratuity payments were paid to administrative personnel who were appointed in political office, whose term ended with those of the councillors.

A gratuity policy was approved in 2021 by the GRDM council. The question remains whether this policy is legal in terms of gratuity payments to an MM, who is appointed by Council and receives an annual performance bonus which is also approved by Council. A gratuity payment is not the same as a performance bonus.

Furthermore it is believed that this policy is only implemented by GRDM; in other words, it is not the norm in other municipalities. Feedback on these matters are being awaited.

When a councillor's term comes to an end and the councillor is not re-elected to council, the procedure that follows for a three months' salary payout is completely different.

Opportunity to comment

In his letter Bredell stated that he is obliged to afford the speaker the opportunity to comment before taking any steps in terms of a section 106 investigation. Wolmarans was granted 15 days to respond, but she asked Bredell on Monday 25 April for an extension in order for her office to collect all the relevant information. "I had a meeting with the MM and with some of the senior officials," said Wolmarans.

"The process will be as follows: between myself and the office of the MM they will provide me with all the information as stipulated in the letter. I am awaiting on whether the MEC is going to grant me the extension, but between myself and the MM and the senior officials all the relevant documentation will be in my office by next Friday.

"A full report will come to Council once the minister's investigation is done. Maybe it is not going to be done by our next council meeting, but then I will give a verbal report on the progress as well.

"The investigation is happening. A letter was also sent to the mayor and the office of the MM, so it is no secret. Everybody that was supposed to receive a letter did receive it."

Leaving the room

At one stage Municipal Manager Monde Stratu said he feels most uncomfortable being present during the discussion and asked to leave the council chambers. He returned later for the rest of the meeting.

Item withdrawn

ANC Councillor Claudia Lichaba pointed out that there was an item on the gratuity report at a previous council meeting that was withdrawn, and a decision was taken that it would be tabled at the next council meeting [Tuesday 26 April]. "The agenda is silent, the report is not here," she said.

"My point is, we can't be quiet about it, because it was a council resolution." Wolmarans said the exact points that were raised in the report are part of the MEC's investigation. Mayor Memory Booysen said he is not comfortable dealing with the matter since it is part of the investigation. "I do not want to incriminate myself," he said.

Mayor Memory Booysen said he did not wish to discuss the matter any further, since he didn't want to incriminate himself.

Municipal Manager Monde Stratu.

Names without amounts

PBI Leader Virgill Gericke said he asked in Council in February for an explanation on the amount of R400 000 that has been paid to certain individuals, as well as the amount of R979 000 paid to the MM. He said when he asked for a breakdown of the figures, it was for the sake of clarity as to who received and who didn't receive a payment.

He also said he was unsure why Province got involved. "The delegation is on the speaker to investigate if councillors are involved. And if the administration is involved, the MM must investigate. If the MM is conflicted, he may not get involved in the investigation. That responsibility must then be shifted to someone else."

In last month's meeting, Gericke had sharp words for the DA when they proposed to refer the report back on grounds of a lack of proper information.

He warned the DA not to try to hijack his request to Council, saying the matter was too serious to be used to score political points, and that it is important for Council to be informed of the payouts and whether they were in accordance with legislation and policies.

PBI's Virgill Gericke raised the matter at the last council meeting in February, where he asked for a breakdown of the payments to political office bearers.