MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

You Decide – Is This Official from the Municipality Corrupt?

By

We spend most of our time focusing on whether politicians are corrupt and conveniently forget that this ‘cloak of corruptive behaviour’ surrounding politicians filters down into ordinary life and, more specifically, the behaviour of the corrupt acts as an enabler for the many officials and employees of our government and private institutions.

After all if you see someone getting away with corruption it is so much easier to justify a one time slip down the rabbit hole of corruption!

Society’s fear is that people will cease to recognise corruptive behaviour and create a more unjust society.

SO, it is our duty to educate people on what corruption is and also to call out those who engage in corruptive activities.

CASE IN POINT – There is a certain official in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality engaging in corruptive practices and we are biding our time and working in the background to either get him to cease this behaviour or be fired and brought to book.

In a sense, this article is a cannon shot across his bows as a fair warning.

What is Corruption?

Simply put, corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.

This can manifest in various ways, including:

  • Bribery: Offering or accepting something of value to influence a decision.
  • Embezzlement: Misappropriating funds or assets for personal use.
  • Extortion: Using threats or force to obtain something of value.
  • Fraud: Deceitful or dishonest practices to gain an advantage.
  • Nepotism: Favoring family members or friends in positions of power.
  • Patronage: Using political influence for personal gain.

Background:

My partner is in an industry that relies on submitting documents to municipal officials so that they can check that these documents are in line with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality bye-laws.

Once the official stamps the documents as being NOT in contravention of any bye-law then these documents go for ‘council’ approval.

Only once all approvals are in place can the actions outlined in the documents take place.

The bye-laws are in place to ensure the safety and well being or residents at large so are a “good thing”.

Naturally the fees charged by my partner to her clients are based on a thorough knowledge of her industry and municipal bye-laws.

The Incident:

A couple of months back my partner submitted documents to a certain municipal official who denied his stamp of approval based on a “contravention of the municipal bye-laws”.

His “helpful” solution was to direct my partner to a certain business (let’s call it FW!) that would ‘fix’ her application for a fee.

BUT, this municipal official is a director of FW which appears to be a family business.

My partner, convinced that her documents did not contravene any municipal bye-laws, asked me to have a look at the bye-laws as well and I (the amateur, I must confess) failed to see any contravention of the bye-laws.

My solution to the problem was to ask him to put his reasons in writing.

Unfortunately (naturally?), the reasons were not forthcoming in writing.

As expected, in the period of all this back and forth, my partner’s clients became irate and questioned her ability as a professional.

Eventually my partner took her documents to another municipal official in Kariega for him to scrutinise.

RESULT: Documents approved with no caveats, no additional recommendations and no additional fees from another private business.

QUESTION: “How is it possible that a professional, her associates, an amateur, 2 clients and a municipal official in Kariega (doing the same job as our miscreant official in Gqeberha) can all come to the same conclusion that the documents pass muster and do not contravene our bye-laws, whilst one official in Gqeberha insists that they don’t and will not provide reasons or guidance?”

Conclusion:

This official certainly seems to be abusing his position of power and trust placed in him by refusing to pass/approve documents unless the submitter uses his family business for additional ‘work’.

Where are we now?

We await final council approval, completion of actions outlined in the submitted documents and then take the next steps to expose and correct this corruptive behaviour.

You have been warned Mr Municipal Official!

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

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.