The ANC-led Mpumalanga Government has proven once again that the ruling party protects politicians and government officials who have been accused of fraud and maladministration.
In a Legislature Sitting this week, the DA delivered a motion without notice calling for the provincial government to suspend CoGTA Head of Department (HOD), Samkelo Ngubane, who was arrested in June with three other accused on allegations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) fraud and corruption amounting to R5.9 million. The ANC majority Legislature dismissed the DA’s motion.
Ngubane, who is currently out on R10 000 bail on charges of contravening sections of the Public Finance Management Act, was arrested by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in June this year after an intensive investigation in the CoGTA department concerning PPE tender irregularities.
The DA called for the provincial government to suspend Ngubane until the outcome of the investigation against him. We suspect that he is in a position to affect the outcome of the investigation if he is allowed office.
It is not fair that Ngubane is still drawing a salary from taxpayers who he has allegedly defrauded using his influential position in the department of CoGTA.
People like Ngubane and his other three accused do not belong in public service because they allegedly took advantage and used the COVID-19 Pandemic for their own selfish gain during a time of uncertainty and despair.
The DA welcomes Ngubane’s arrest and we will follow this case closely. Should he be found guilty, we will call on the SIU and the Mpumalanga Provincial Government to recover assets and financial losses suffered by the CoGTA department at the hands of Ngubane and his co-accused.