NORTH WEST – Theletsi Roger Nkhumise (49) made an appearance before the Moretele Regional Court on 15 July 2022, for contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) in the appointment of Flame IT Strategy to render ICT services in 2016 at Moretele Local Municipality where the accused was appointed as a Municipality Manager.
It is alleged that the provisions of Regulation 32 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations were wrongly deliberately and unlawfully applied by the Municipal Manager, in that when Moretele Local Municipality inherited the contract for ICT services from Madibeng Local Municipality, irregular provision was allegedly made in subsequent Service Level Agreements for Flame IT Strategy to be appointed for additional work without following processes.
The original contract between Flame IT Strategy and Madibeng Local Municipality was reportedly remaining with only twenty three (23) months until conclusion, however Moretele Local Municipality appointed the said service provider for three (3) years. The service provider was allegedly appointed without a competitive bidding process and thereafter the contract was extended deviating from the prescripts of Regulation 32. Additionaly,the pricing for the contract was allegedly also different from the pricing of the inherited contract. The service provider was allegedly paid an amount of approximately R215, 000000-00 in total.
The accused faces four counts of contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) 56 of 2003, read with Regulation 32 of the Municipal Supply Management Regulations.
The matter was postponed to 17 August 2022 for disclosure of docket and representation.
Major General Patrick Mbotho, the Provincial Head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in North West, warned that “people who use their positions of power to promote criminal activities will face the full might of the law.” He further thanked the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and National Treasury for ensuring that this matter gets heard in court.
Source: South African Police Service