ActionSA has welcomed a report by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka that clears Nkuli Mbundu, its former City of Johannesburg mayoral committee member for economic development, of interfering with procurement processes.
In 2022, Mbundu was accused of having interfered in tender processes for upgrade work on the Walter Sisulu Square Of Dedication, which were supposed to be handled by the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), as well as claims he had breached the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
Further, he was accused of having been involved in allegedly soliciting a bribe of R3000 and a bottle of whisky.
Mbundu subsequently resigned in June 2023 – after serving 18 months as MMC of finance in the city – due to the allegations levelled against him.
Following his clearance by the Public Protector, the party – through its national chairperson, Michael Beaumont – congratulated Mbundu for having stayed the course and subjected himself to the investigation.
“We congratulate Mbundu for staying the course and subjecting himself to an investigation, knowing that he would be vindicated. As a party which values ethical leadership, ActionSA welcomed any investigation into our public office bearers, but always maintained that the allegations against Mbundu were politically motivated for the work he was doing to clean up the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC).
“As now supported by the Public Protector, Mbundu exercised his oversight duties when he discovered that the WSSD project was overpriced, and requested further action from JPC officials,” the party said.
Reacting to the news, Mbundu said: “I’ve been cleared by the Public Protector on the malicious ‘tender interference’ allegations against me, as MMC, by JPC officials in 2022.“
In the report, Gcaleka stated that Mbundu had “exercised his oversight duties and discovered that the [Walter Sisulu Square Of Dedication] project is over-priced”.
“Accordingly, the conduct of Mbundu did not contravene sections 195(a)9b)(d)(f)(g) of the Constitution, Clauses 2(a)(b) of the Code of Conduct for Councillors embedded in Schedule 1 of the Municipal Act... the conduct of Mbundu, in the circumstances does not constitute improper conduct as envisaged in section 182(1)(a)of the Constitution and section 6(5)(b) of the Public Protector Act.”
Reacting to the favourable findings of the report, Mbundu said: “This case was always nothing but an abuse of state resources by officials and politicians in an attempt to prevent us from closing the taps.”
Beaumont said the JPC had long been plagued by corruption and other irregularities.
“The JPC has long been plagued by corruption allegations, and ActionSA is therefore concerned that at the time of the Mbundu investigation, media outlets widely reported on the matter. However, it is evident that once he has been cleared, the vindication isn’t published nearly as widely. This poses serious questions about how we as a country treat those those who deal with allegations correctly and legitimately to clear their names,” the party said.
The Star