7 Officials Suspended in Nelson Mandela Bay for What Mayor Described As Biggest Corruption Network in Metro

• Seven Nelson Mandela Bay officials have been suspended after a corruption investigation into an explosion at the Coega substation
• Mayor Retief Odendaal said that the probe uncovered one of the biggest corruption networks in the history of the current administration
• The case has been handed to the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit for further investigation

NELSON MANDELA BAY - Seven officials in the Electricity and Energy Directorate of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality have been suspended. Mayor Retief Odendaal describes the situation as the biggest corruption network in the history of the metro's administration.

The suspensions stem from the explosion of the Coega substation, which happened on Saturday, 11 March. The blast resulted in widespread water outages, power outages and about R40 million in damage.

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According to News24, it was initially believed that the explosion was the result of vandalism by cable thieves.

Nelson Mandela Bay mayor says investigation uncovered widespread corruption

The explosion spurred an internal investigation into fraud, irregularities and corruption.

Mayor Ordendal said the investigation uncovered that the corruption network had siphoned millions from the metro over the last couple of years, Daily Maverick reported.

Ordendal said the probe was handed over to the Hawks and the Special Investigating Unit for further investigation.

South African are curious about which party the 7 officials belong to

Below are some comments:

@russelllundie asked:

"Whose 'officials'? DA? ANC? A mix of both? It matters either way. If DA, then great, you are cleaning house. If ANC, then great, you are cleaning up."

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@TinusWillemse1 praised:

"Now that is what we want to see more of, please."

@lootgous said:

"Root out #Corruption. End of story."

@priscillaharker added:

"Good. Lock them all up. Make them pay back."

@Jo1Coetzee celebrated:

"@MayorRetief Dealing decisively with corruption. It's time to clean up Nelson Mandela Bay!"

Zandile Gumede’s R300m corruption case shows judiciary works to hold politicians accountable, expert says

Briefly News earlier reported that the prosecution of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede indicated that the South African judicial system doesn't give politicians special treatment.

This is according to legal expert Mpumelelo Zikalala, who claimed that the fraud and corruption case against Gumede shows the courts worked and could hold influential people accountable.

The case relates to alleged irregular, wasteful expenditure to the tune of over R300 million and more than 2 700 counts of fraud, money laundering and racketeering, News24 reported.

Source: Briefly News