Staff Reporter
The former mayor of Nketoana Local Municipality, Mandla Mamba, and two accomplices have been found guilty of fraud, money laundering and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act by the Bethlehem Serious Commercial Crimes Court.
The matter against Mamba, 49, Vincent Mkhefa, 46, and Caroline Nketu, 52, dates back to 2011 when a whistle blower reported alleged tender fraud and corruption at the eastern Free State municipality whose main towns include Lindley, Petrus Steyn, Reitz and Arlington.
Judgment in the matter was delivered on Monday and the trio was asked to return to court on December 7 for sentencing.
Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo said in a statement the allegations of fraud and corruption relate to the installation of equipment in recreational parks without following procurement procedures.
He said Mamba, who was Nketoana municipality mayor at the time, is said to have sourced a service provider and requested a quotation for playground equipment.
“The service provider submitted the quotation for the amount of R32 000 and later delivered the equipment,” said Singo.
The service provider was then paid by the municipality for the services rendered.
“During the same period . . . Nketu who was a service provider was also requested to provide quotations for the same tender. Two quotations were then submitted for the amounts of R198 500 and R165 600.
“Mkhefa the former CFO (chief financial officer) authorised the payments to Nketu on two different occasions. No services were rendered by Nketu to the municipality,” Singo explained.
It was also discovered that Nketu paid R1 000 on two different occasions to Mamba.
As a result of these fraudulent activities the municipality suffered a total loss of more than R364 000.
The matter was reported to the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Bloemfontein for further investigation leading to the arrest of the three on July 19, 2019.