REFILWE MEKOA
The DA said they immediately want to return the Moqhaka Municipality money, just as soon as the municipal manager brings forward a payback agreement from other political parties.
DA’s Chris Steyl explained that they are not holding the municipality to ransom and waits for the manager’s response. This, after the Free State High Court ordered Moqhaka, based in Kroonstad, to get back R400 000 it paid to several political parties to fund their 2009 election campaigns. The Public Protector found in April 2012 that the payments were unconstitutional, unauthorised, and wasteful expenditure.
Steyl added that when Moqhaka distributed funds to various political parties, they objected because the funds were for political purposes and took the matter to the Public Protector to investigate. He said they placed their money into a trust being held by a law firm in Kroonstad.
“The request is for the municipality to prove they recovered money from all political parties, but to no avail. The DA Moqhaka council caucus said it would return the funds to the municipality on presentation that all political parties who have received such funds irregularly, have paid it back to the municipality. We have that money and we will pay it back, our concern is that the other parties like the APC and the ACDP who have received the funds are no longer part of the council,” said Steyl.
ANC received R380 000, the DA R70 000, the APC and FF Plus each R20 000, the ACDP R10 000. Freedom Front Plus’s Wouter Wessels last week was reported to have repaid its share.
