Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM) municipal manager, Zamile Sikhundla has handed himself over to the police following a request by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) on Monday, November 28.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Communications from Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Lixolile Petela, Sikhundla is being indicted for an alleged contravention in terms of section 173 of Municipal Finance Management Act.
“He is currently out on bail and will re-appear before the Mount Ayliff (Emaxesibeni) Court on November 30, 2022. It must be noted that since the beginning of the 2017 proclamation by the then President Jacob Zuma that certain contracts relating to procurement of services by the municipality, both the municipal manager and the Municipality have been complying fully with the investigation and have provided authorities with all the information as requested,” said Petela.
He said that the Municipality and Sikhundla harbour a strong belief that there has been no wrongdoing on his part as it relates to the matter at hand.
Petela added that the Municipality respects the rule of law and will continue to subject their officials to any investigation when it is deemed necessary by the authorities.
“We are, however, concerned on the length of the investigation which has been ongoing since 2017 with previous arrests of former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), former Infrastructure Delivery Management System’s (IDMS) Manager and former Supply Chain Management (SCM) personnel, relating to this matter and to this day there have been no convictions made, nor has there been any conclusive evidence of any wrongdoing brought forward.”
Patela further added that they will continue to cooperate with any investigation on any matter in order to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance by the Municipality.
Spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela confirmed that Sikhundla was released on bail of R5 000.
