ActionSA seeks answers about uMngeni Mayor R100k scandal

ActionSA has taken a decision to write to the uMngeni Municipality Speaker, Ms Janis Holmes, requesting immediate answers on what transpired leading up to the awarding of R100 000 to UMngeni Tourism, a non-profit organisation (NPO) headed by Mayor Chris Pappas’s fiancé, Mr JP Prinsloo.

WHAT ACTIONSA UNDERSTANDS ABOUT THE SCANDAL

While Prinsloo and Pappas share a working relationship, the NPO currently earns monthly payments from the Municipality of R10 000, the R100 000 was received by the NPO as additional funding, Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson said.

“The Mayor had direct conflict of interest in this matter, and should have not have only declared his relationship with Prinsloo, but should have declared the interest and recused himself from deliberations pertaining to the NPO.”Mncwango

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ANSWERS REQUIRED FROM UMNGENI SPEAKER ABOUT CHRIS PAPPAS

“It is also alleged that the couple travelled together to various events and functions, aimed at promoting the Municipality. Although it is not clear whether municipal funds were used for their travels, or were using their respective capacities, however, we have requested clarity from the Speaker in this regard,” Mncwango claimed.

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He added, “the Speaker is hereby requested to take us through the sequence of events leading up to the awarding of the NPO in question, and to ascertain whether code of conduct and proper protocol was followed by the Mayor in this regard after declaring his relationship with Prinsloo, which would be to excuse himself from council and committee meetings in which this item was tabled.
“In understanding the position of conflict-of-interest Mayor Pappas found himself in, councillors are, by law, required to recuse themselves from council, especially when matters are to be voted upon, which is highlighted under Schedule 7 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors, under Disclosure of Interests“.

UMNGENI MAYOR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOURISM NPO

With a number of various and conflicting reports of this issue, revealing that Umngeni Tourism enjoys the preferential treatment of receiving R100 000 in funding from the Municipality, Mncwango said their list of questions to the Speaker requests that she solely focuses on processes undertaken in the current term (starting from 2021).

This is a developing story.

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