Mayor wine and dine in KZN

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein- The controversial mayor of the Theunissen-based Masilonyana Local Municipality in the Free State recently took a lavish trip to the province Kwa-Zulu Natal where she wined and dined allegedly using a state vehicle.

Dimakatso Modise who is no stranger to controversy left with five of her staff member including her Personal Assistant (PA) to KZN.

The group spent almost 4 days staying in a fancy hotel, Isibaya Hotel Sun International in KZN.

Modise who is a political head of the cash-strapped municipality is said to have lied to officials about the trip and claimed that she was en route to Brits near Rustenburg in North West to bury her cousin.

But her lies were soon exposed when pictures of her trip to the Zulu kingdom emerged on social media. In a variety of pictures, Modise is seen with her staff.

According to a source on the upper echelons in the municipality Modise and her staff left on Tuesday, 03 December, and returned on Friday the 6th.

The source said that she was even late for a council sitting on Friday the day she returned from this lavish trip. The sitting commenced at 11:00 am and she entered council chambers at 1:40 pm. It’s not yet clear if municipal funds were used to fund this trip.

She allegedly failed to attend a 3-day Free State Local Government Summit meeting held in Welkom in Matjhabeng set to look into troubling issues across municipalities amongst others. The 3 day leg summit was held from Tuesday until Thursday the same week she departed for her lavish trip.

This has since angered many and prompted officials to investigate the whereabouts of a state vehicle.

A car tracker report later revealed that indeed a state vehicle with a number plate known to this publication is Grey silver double cab fortuner travelled to KZN.

It remains to be seen if any action will be taken against Modise for neglecting her official sworn duties to wine and dine with stuff.

She has previously come to a crossroads with workers and residents who made it vehemently clear that they no longer want her as the mayor of the ailing municipality.

However, the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee(PEC) has since dispelled the plea from residents and some within the ANC.

ANC’s Provincial Secretary, Polediso “50 000 Jobs For The Youth” Motsoaneng, earlier said the issues besieging the municipality and Modise were more administrative rather than political.

The municipality is among several municipalities in the province that have failed to pay workers’ salaries and service providers.

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) Tsakani Maluleke has previously made damming findings against this municipality.

The municipality has at least on two occasions failed to submit official documents for auditing processes and the municipality has also in the past failed to account for the money spent from municipal coffers.

The municipality has been bashed for alleged rife corruption, Maladministration and fraud over the years.

This has since landed it on the raider of the Special Investing Unit (SIU). On Monday, 09 December 2024 stormed the offices of officials.

The SIU was assisted by the Hawks.

According to the SIU’s spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago the unit together with the Hawks entered the three municipality’s premises to collect evidence that is in line with Proclamation 182 of 2024, which directs the SIU to investigate allegations of maladministration of two tenders in the Masilonyana Local municipality.

Kganyago said the contracts under scrutiny include:

• The Refurbishment of Brandfort Water Treatment Works and Raw Water Pump Stations.
• Upgrading of Brandfort Sport Centre Phase II.

“The investigation focus also seeks to establish whether municipal officials, service providers, or any other involved parties unduly benefit themselves or others, leading to unauthorized, irregular, or fruitless and wasteful expenditure or financial losses for the municipality”

“The search and seizure operation is the SIU’s last resort to access documents needed for the investigation and obtain the necessary documentation for its investigation,” He said.

The municipality has allegedly refused to cooperate with the unit in its attempt to investigate the municipality.

Kganyago said.

“Since the proclamation was published on 13 September 2024, the SIU has made multiple attempts to contact the Municipality to access the required documents voluntarily; however, these attempts have gone unanswered”

During the search, the SIU collected a range of documentation and devices essential for auditing and
compliance concerning successful tenders awarded between 1 January 2013 and 13 September 2024.

The seized materials as stipulated in the warrant include:

• Company registration documents
• Payment records (invoices, purchase orders, remittance advice)
• Electronic devices, including laptops, mobile devices, and external storage media used by relevant officials and employees.
• Any associated electronic data, including emails and cloud storage information linked to specific
  personnel.

This is a developing story.

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