Hawks Arrest Municipal Chief Financial Officer for Alleged Corruption, SA Claps

• The Chief Financial Officer of the Lekwa Teemane Local Municipality in the North West was arrested for fraud
• The government employee reportedly procured motor vehicle rental services for the mayor without following due process
• His actions cost the municipality over R167,000, and he was arrested and is expected to appear in court soon

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

HEIDELBURG, GAUTENG — A North West municipal officer was arrested in Heidelberg for fraudulent activities.

CFO arrested

According to the South African Police Service, the Chief Financial Officer at the Lekwa Teemane Locakl Municipality in the North West, the government official, reportedly procured motor vehicle rental services for the municipality's mayor without following due process from April to May 2022.

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The officer's actions cost the municipality R167,000, and he was busted in Heidelberg, Gauteng. He was charged with fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act. He is expected to appear in court soon.

South Africans comment

Netizens on Facebook did not applaud the police for the arrest.

Goodman Sibeko said:

"Good news."

Jeff Motsoane said:

"What's the use of arresting him because tomorrow he will be free."

Sarika Ramkaran said:

"Let us hope he doesn't fall through the cracks because of an affiliation to some affluent person."

Jnr Frans Elias Mphotolozi said:

"Tenders in municipalities, especially security tenders, are the ones doing fraud and corruption, but I've never heard it say that they arrested a security company owner."

Martin Oosthuizen asked:

"And we start seeing how many years and no bail? We always see people getting arrested, and it ends up badly."

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Taka Chrima said:

"Catch and release, but the money is still missing."

Nongoma officials arrested

In a related article, Briefly News reported that officials from the Nongoma Municipality were arrested.

The municipal manager, supply chain manager, chief financial officer and the bodyguard were arrested.

They faced charges of fraud, theft and money laundering and appeared in court on 25 March to face the music.

Source: Briefly News