MEC Maile signals intent to tackle corruption in municipalities 'soon'
15 July 2019
Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Urban Planning and COGTA, Lebogang Maile wants to deal with corruption in municipalities across the province.
"Soon I’ll be making a public announcement on serious allegations of corruption in our municipalities and what steps the provincial government will be taking. We will not spare anyone irrespective of their political affiliation. Corruption must be fought mercilessly," he tweeted on Sunday.
The MEC has recently exchanged words with Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba on issues of corruption and the infamous Alexandra Urban Renewal Project.
Maile however maintains that this move has nothing to do with a particular municipality, despite butting heads with Mashaba.
"It has nothing to do with one municipality. We do not deal with issues based on our feelings, we only deal with issues based on the law.
"Our [his and Mashaba's] engagements are part of the public discourse," Maile told News24 on Monday.
He could not give a date as to when the alleged corruption will be revealed.
"Soon means soon, but some of them have already been placed in the public domain. For example, I have already sent letters to the City of Ekurhuleni and Lesedi municipality," he explained.
Maile formally wrote to the Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina seeking answers after an investigative report by AmaBhungane exposed how the metro spent R1.9bn on a toilet tender that was allegedly a "get-rich-quick scheme for underperforming contractors".
The report suggested the project, where toilets were sourced from 16 small suppliers, was a get-rich-quick scheme for some underperforming contractors that left many a beneficiary with dirty and broken toilets, News24 earlier reported.
