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Ratepayers Association calls for civil charges against corrupt officials

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Dear Ratepayers, Business and Civil Society,

It has become very clear that after six years of listening to all the promises made by the politicians to the consumers and ratepayers of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro that all these promises are no more than lies whilst the looting of the ratepayers coffers continues. Key officials within the institution have become political appointments in order that they can be manipulated to carry out the political mandate and if any official dare go against this political pressure then they are removed. Examples of this are evident when we consider what happened to Adv Graham Richards and Dr Lindiwe. It also explains why the NMB Metro has not had a permanent City Manager for the previous six years.

Due to political influence and pressure proper Supply Chain processes are not being followed and officials are awarding tenders to friends, family and co-business partners. This in turn does not allow for a fair tender process and renders the entire Supply Chain Management of the metro flawed and corrupt. As a result of this irregular tender process the few chosen contractors continue to receive tenders from the metro. In addition, the Metro is often charged in excess of a market related price, sometimes three or four times more than what the Metro would have paid should a normal fair procurement process have been followed. For this reason the Auditor General’s audit report for the 2013/14 financial year proved that R 900 million was unaccounted for, lost, missing, wasted or stolen. Can we allow and afford this to continue as the economy of the Metro can no longer survive this abuse of ratepayers monies and government funding.

We all recall the OJ Simpson murder trial, he was acquitted from murdering his wife but the Goldman family sued him for damages in a civil trial as there was sufficient evidence to hold Simpson liable for wrongful death. The only thing is that he could not be charged for murder a second time. So if the civil case took place initially and he was criminally charged then the criminal justice system would and should have found him guilty and he would have been jailed at the time.

This then is the way forward for removing the corrupt officials and politicians and those responsible for financial mismanagement out of office. Should we sue them in a civil court and get judgement against them for defrauding ratepayers monies we can then take that judgment and open a criminal case and it would be very difficult for them to walk away without being found guilty. We need accountability and that’s what we must fight for to root out all corruption in our city and country. Just remember that the next budget is on the table to be approved soon and once again we will subsidise all lost monies due to corruption.

Join up with AfriForum Port Elizabeth and let us collectively make Afriforum PE financially strong in order to have the financial support AfriForum will provide us with to bring these criminals to task. Sign a debit order with Afriforum for a monthly donation of between R50 – R100 (depending on affordability) and become a part of the AfriForum family who will fight for your rights and will act on your behalf on any Metro related cases. AfriForum PE debit order forms will be sent to you to sign up with head office in Pretoria. NB: Your form must state that you are from Port Elizabeth in order for the necessary budget to be allocated to PE.

This message will be repeated to make sure that every NMB resident are aware of what’s to come in 2015.

Please report any corruption to our investigation team at: investcorruption@gmail.com

Regards

Kobus Gerber
NMB Ratepayers association
Afriforum Port Elizabeth

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.