DA reports Sol Plaatje Mayor’s 'mini-Nkandla' to Public Protector

11 December 2017

The DA will request the Public Protector to investigate the ‘mini Nkandla’ of Sol Plaatje Mayor, Mangaliso Matika. This comes after it emerged that Matika has partaken in illegal housing and decorating benefits not due to him.

The DA has proof that Matika facilitated the rental of his own personal accommodation through Sol Plaatje Municipality.

This is despite the fact that, in 2014, Council voted against a proposal, put forward by SALGA, to make provision for official accommodation for the mayor.

This is also despite the fact that the rental agreement of the mayor’s house in Henry Schmidt Street, in Kimberley, was never approved by Council.

As a result, ratepayers have been coughing up approximately R14 000 a month, for the better part of the year, for the rental costs of Matika’s private residence.

On top of this, Matika’s house has also, to a large extent, been furnished with taxpayers’ money.

In this regard, the DA has evidence of the following purchases made by Sol Plaatje municipality for Matika’s house:

- A R26 000 Samsung TV;
- Curtains to the value R52 000;
- A hi-fi to the value of R15 000;
- Crystal ware to the value of R26 000; and
- Kitchenware to the value of R44 000.

Aside from the luxury spending on home furnishings for Matika’s residence, Sol Plaatje records can also prove that Matika got the municipality to split payments, in order to bring down individual purchase costs, so that he could more easily skirt around Supply Chain Management processes.

The DA is of the view that Mayor Matika has shown the residents of Sol Plaatje his true colours. Like so many other ANC politicians, he too places his own comforts above the basic needs of the thousands of residents who reside in Kimberley and its surrounds.

The DA believes Mayor Matika is not fit to remain in office, and we want the Office of the Public Protector to launch an investigation into our claims in order to verify the blatant corruption that is taking place under our noses.

Maybe then the DA will be able to garner enough support to have a Motion of No Confidence passed against him.

Issued by Philip Vorster, DA Councillor, 11 December 2017