The Moses Kotane Local Municipality in the North West has refuted claims that it disregarded VBS Mutual Bank allegations made against its Chief Financial Officer Mzwandile Mkhize when it appointed him.
The municipality is adamant that it followed all legitimate processes when it appointed the CFO whose contract was extended this year.
It is alleged that Mkhize is facing corruption charges relating to VBS at his previous employer, West Rand District Municipality, which invested more than R300 million into the bank.
Municipal spokesperson Berlina Lekgethwane says Mkhize was appointed by the council in 2018 on a five-year fixed term.
“His appointment was made up of representatives from different political parties after a formal procedure that included the State Security Agency screening, qualification verification, and verification from the National COGTA revealed that he was not on the register of dismissed employees,” said Lekgethwane.
According to Lekgethwane, both Mkhize and the municipality learned of the allegations in 2021 and the case against him has been postponed several times and he has not been found guilty.
In a statement released by the municipality, “Mkhize was reappointed to the position as he was the most qualified applicant with the expertise of taking the municipality from the web of disclaimer audit opinion to unqualified better audit opinion as well as competency test, he underwent was deemed fit for taking the municipality to clean audit.”
Lekgethwane further says the municipality sought an outside legal opinion before he was re-appointed in November last year regarding his employment restrictions while a criminal prosecution was underway.
The municipality is expected to hold a formal press conference on the matter next week Tuesday.