DA wants KZN MEC to be suspended over Nkandla, Mthonjaneni millions

The Democratic Alliance has asked  KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu to suspend KZN MEC of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

This pending an an investigation into the DA's claims that she is alleged to be involved in multi-million rand corruption in the Nkandla and Mthonjaneni municipalities.

They also claim that her husband‚ Sibusiso Justin Ncube‚ who is a director of communications company Brand Partners‚ has benefitted financially as a result of her actions.

In a letter to Mchunu‚ signed by provincial DA leader Zwakele Mncwango‚ the DA has claimed she is to have awarded Brand Partners a communications tender at the Nkandla municipality in December 2017‚ worth in excess of R7.5-million. This‚ they said‚ was in contravention of the public finance management Act and the supply chain management regulations Act‚ therefore making the deal unlawful.

During a media briefing on Wednesday‚ Mncwango said: “There were people within government communications who could have done the job‚ there was no need to award a tender”.

According to the letter‚ the DA also outlines three other charges of corruption related to the appointment of two municipal managers in the Mthonjaneni district and Nkandla district and the subsequent awarding of a communications tender to Brand Partners in Nkandla.

Mncwango also asked for the municipal manager (MM) in both municipalities to be suspended pending the outcome of a hearing and for the premier to report back within seven days.

The letter was sent to the premier on Monday. On Tuesday‚ the DA received a letter from attorney Justin Bagwandeen representing Ncube.

In the letter‚ he said he was instructed that a media briefing would be convened at which allegations would be levelled at his client‚ as a director of Afriscan Construction. Bagwandeen informed the DA that Ncube had resigned as a director of Afriscan and that any allegations or references to him in this regard would be "untruthuful‚ misleading and defamatory".

Dube-Ncube is expected to convene a media briefing on Wednesday in response to the DA's corruption allegations.