ZULULAND district municipality mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi has pleaded ignorance about damning forensic report that directly implicates him in rampant corruption in the northern KZN municipality.
The mayor pleased ignorance when Daily Sun asked him to comment about the report and its recommendations that he step down.
"What report are you talking about? I don't know any report," said mayor.
When asked whether he attended a virtual council meeting on Thursday where the report was presented he said he wasn't there. Buthelezi said he doesn't have and has never seen any report, therefore he wasn't able to respond to it.
"How do you want me to talk about something that I don't know or have never seen," said Buthelezi.
The People's Paper understands that the mayor was at the meeting but was asked to leave together with the other two officials because they were implicated. ANC chief whip in the municipality Mxolisi Zulu said the mayor was lying that he doesn't know about the report. He said he was present but they were told to move out because the report was going to implicate them.
In the story that Daily Sun ran on Thursday, the speaker who is also Inkatha Freedom Party member Bheki Mncwango, confirmed that the municipality received the report and he has it. IFP national spokesman Mkhuleko Hlengwa told Daily Sun today that the party was still studying the report and it will comment after. He added that after the party has studied the report it will be referred to its political oversight committee which is responsible to appoint and remove members in government positions.
The 387- page report which Daily Sun has seen blasted the mayor. Out of 16 charges the mayor was almost found to have flouted or undermined rules and regulations under municipal act. In one instance the report recommends that he pay back R1,6 m for extra security guards that was irregularly allocated to him. In terms of the policy mayors are supposed to have two but according to the ANC in the district he had 15 body guards.
