Update

GEORGE - The office of the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, has issued another statement regarding the investigation into George Municipality.

This follows a statement issued by Trevor Botha, George's Municipal Manager.

Read the statement below:

Statement by James-Brent Styan, Spokesperson for the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell:

"The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning has noted with interest the flurry of statements and communications being released by a senior official in the George municipality as well as from some opposition parties in the Western Cape, relating to a new investigation into allegations of serious impropriety in George.

"The minister would like to state the following:

1. The investigation is not being done by the minister, it is being done by the department of local government.
2. The latest investigations are seemingly related to administrative issues and speaks to matters of supply chain management, contract management and appointments of officials.
3. Local Government legislation provides the minister with certain responsibilities. The minister is acting within and being guided by the law. The legislation in Local Government
4. The minister is an elected member of a provincial executive with a duty to the electorate of George, not the senior official or any political party. It would be remiss if the minister does not act against the multitude of allegations that have been brought to his attention with regards to George. Just because the timing or nature of the investigation does not suit some, does not mean the minister will back down. One must ask in whose interests the official releasing statements in the name of the municipality is acting. Ditto the opposition party doing the same, driving a media campaign with a hidden agenda. If there was nothing to hide then any investigation would have been welcomed with open arms?
5. The minister was the one who called the Hawks into George previously. That investigation remains ongoing.

"The investigation the minister called for this week, comes as a result of a multitude of complaints and allegations that have been made to his office from various stakeholders. For more than a year the minister has been receiving requests for further investigations into George. The department has conducted several fact finding and preliminary investigations to date with varying outcomes. Investigations like these are not necessarily one-off matters, but more of a process that builds over time as a case is built.

Read previous articles:

• Municipal Manager responds to investigation report
• Mayor welcomes investigation, Municipal Manager questions motives
• Bredell orders investigation into George Municipality

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