Top official of Karoo Hoogland Municipality buys doctorate degree

AfriForum today submitted a docket with evidence to the Hawks, indicating that "Dr" Marius Kirsten Botha, the Finance Chief of the Karoo Hoogland Municipality bought his doctorate degree.

This comes after the AfriForum Investigation Unit confirmed that Mr Botha bought his doctorate degree at the Rochville University, an online, unaccredited university which is run from Pakistan.

The AfriForum Investigation Unit was referred to a website, Affordable Degrees, which sells qualifications. The website, among other things, advertises the following: "Accredited Life Experiences Degree, buy a degree online, no studies, no attendance, no waiting, no examinations and no hefty fees".

Marius Botha, Louis Nothnagel and Jacobus van Schalkwyk, current and former senior management at the Municipality are to appear in the Williston Magistrate's Court on 6 November on various fraud charges. The charges range from the payment of performance bonuses to the appointment of unregistered companies which were allegedly owned by Mr Botha's wife. 

According to Stefan Pieterse, Provincial Coordinator for AfriForum in the Northern Cape, Mr Nothnagel, who has already left the Municipality, Mr Botha, the current Finance Chief and Mr Van Schalkwyk have dented the Municipality and the community.

"How can the person in control of the wallet of the Municipality buy his degree? Character, integrity and leadership are lacking. The community deserves to know where his thesis is and what he is doing with the rest of the Municipality's money," Pieterse said. 

According to the probe by AfriForum, Mr Botha lives in George and is at the municipal offices in Williston only about two weeks every month.

Statement issued by Stefan Pieterse, AfriForum Northern Cape Provincial Coordinator, November 3 2014

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