KIMBERLEY – The Kimberley Serious Commercial Crimes Court has sentenced former Phokwane Local Municipality Manager Advocate Matshidiso Cordelia Mogale on Thursday 16 April bringing an end to a long-standing criminal case involving financial misconduct.
The court imposed a sentence requiring her to pay a fine of R150 000 or serve four years in prison, according to a statement from the Hawks in the Northern Cape. The Hawks further confirmed Mogale was not charged and found guilty of fraud, as previously stated in a media statement.
Mogale was convicted on 30 January after the court found her guilty of contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) during her tenure at the municipality in Hartswater, Northern Cape province.
The court imposed the following sentences:
- On two counts of contravening Section 61(2)(B) and Section 62: a fine of R75 000 or four years’ imprisonment
- On four counts of contravening Sections 60, 173(1)(a) and 174 of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003: a fine of R75 000 or four years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that she is not found guilty of contravening the same act.
Mogale is required to pay a fine of R150 000. Her sentencing relates to financial misconduct in 2018, including authorising unlawful car and travel allowances for 13 employees and awarding herself salary increases and rural allowances without proper council or MEC authorisation.
Evidence presented in court revealed that Mogale disregarded a municipal council moratorium that was in place at the time through her unlawful instructions. Additional evidence showed that she unlawfully increased her remuneration package and implemented a 4% rural allowance.
Mogale reportedly took the decision without informing the council or obtaining authorisation from the MEC of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the Northern Cape, as required by law. All increases were backdated to July 2017, resulting in substantial losses to the municipality amounting to more than R2.7 million. The Phokwane council had appointed Mogale on a five-year term effective 1 February 2017, after the position had been vacant for over two years.
