eThekwini heads to new crisis

The eThekwini municipality is sitting on another damning internal report that implicatesthe city’s police services — this time for giving reflector jackets earmarked for pupil patrols to ANC officials to use at a party.

A December 2014 eThekwini internal audit report recommended that disciplinary actionand criminal charges be instituted against deputy head of metro police Steve Middletonfor sanctioning a directive that reflective orange jackets be given to the ANC for use during their centenary celebrations.

It was proposed the city recover the cost of the jackets — nearly R25,000 — from him.This report comes after another internal audit report surfaced last month which foundthe city’s police wasted R4-million to hire more than 50 top-end vehicles.

eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede ahead of the August local government elections.This report comes after the city confirmed last week that metro police head EugeneNzama would be taking early retirement.

Nzama and Gumede have had a number of political and operational differences.The investigation into the jackets follows a tip-off from former metro police support services manager Innocent Chamane‚ who was gunned down in November 2015.

The report fingers Middleton as a culprit who‚ in contravention of city laws and otherapplicable legislation‚ instructed junior staff at the metro police stores to hand over 219 reflective orange jackets to the ANC for use at the party ’s celebrations at Moses Mabhida Stadium in January 2013.

The items‚ with a combined value of R24 517.50‚ were collected by Bheki Mngwengwe‚ then an ordinary ANC member. He is now the ANC’s ward 87 councillor.

The city’s investigation unit said Middleton‚ Mngwengwe and another implicated official‚Vincent Ngubane‚ had failed to avail themselves for interviews. 

However‚ in e-mail correspondence revealed in the report‚ Middleton alleged he had received an instruction from higher up to release the jackets and that he believed he was being victimised as the matter had previously been investigated.

Middleton said: “I saw [the] report of years ago. I thought you were referring to a recent possible new report. I have seen [the] old report. Its emergence now relates to the head [of the] metro police vacating his seat soon.”Middleton referred further questions to the metro police spokesman Sibonelo Mchunu.

Meanwhile DA leader Zwakele Mncwango‚ who had called for a probe into the irregularities of how the vehicles were hired‚ questioned the use of audit units when its reports are “never acted on’’.

Mncwango said: “If it was not Nzama who authorised jackets and procured 50 vehicles‚Middleton should tell us who did. It makes sense to say perhaps it was Zandile Gumede‚who was chair of the security committee at the time.”

EThekwini Municipality spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa said the office of the city manager, Sipho Nzuza, was aware of the report and was dealing with the matter.