[ad_1]
Olly Mlamleli is said to have been arrested.
- The Hawks arrested Mangaung Mayor Olly Mlamleli on Wednesday.
- It was part of a series of arrests the Hawks made across the country.
- The ANC confirmed that it should have an urgent meeting on the matter.
The ousted Mangaung mayor, Olly Mlamleli, was arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday morning, several ANC insiders told News24.
A source said he was at the Bainsvlei police station in Bloemfontein, where Mlamleli was being held.
“I found out on the way to city hall and immediately drove to the police station and saw Olly being pulled out of a Hawks vehicle,” the source said.
Three other ANC leaders said the arrests were related to the controversial asbestos contract, for which Mlamleli was singled out during her tenure as MEC.
ROLLING COVER | Hawks make arrests for asbestos deal in Free State
Another source said the council session had to be postponed because ANC councilors left to support Mlamleli after learning of his arrest.
“We couldn’t do anything today. The moment they found out that Olly was arrested, her supporters left the council and we didn’t reach a quorum,” the ANC councilor said.
Efforts to obtain confirmation from the Hawks were unsuccessful.
Meeting
ANC officials in the Free State are expected to convene an urgent meeting following the arrests of high-profile individuals in the province.
ANC spokesman Thabo Meeko confirmed this to News24 on Wednesday.
EXPLANATOR | What You Need To Know About The Free State Asbestos Deal
“We heard that high-profile people in the province were arrested. We are waiting for the NPA to reveal the names after they appear in court. ANC officials in the province will meet and make decisions,” he said.
He said the ANC processes will be launched as those accused of corruption will have to step aside.
Provincial ANC leaders said the party must deal with the political consequences of the arrests.
Another party member and provincial SACP leader said he was heading to a meeting with some of the party’s leaders to discuss the arrests.
Domino effect
“At this point, it will be difficult for me to say exactly why they have been arrested, but this is going to cause a hail storm. This will have a ripple effect on many people all the way to the top,” said the SACP leader. .
In May, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule and Mlameli were singled out in a damning report by public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
The report ruled that the province did not follow proper procurement procedures when awarding the R200 million contract, and that the provincial department participated in an expired contract from the Gauteng human settlements department and did not conduct a due diligence investigation before engaging in contract.
Mkhwebane noted that the province was in possession of the Gauteng department’s Legal Service Agreement, which had expired, but was ahead of time to pay the service provider R139 million.
This, despite the fact that the Auditor General declared that the hiring was irregular as early as July 2015.
In addition, he noted that the department did not receive good value for money and that the service provider had outsourced the contract at a fee of just over 21 million rand, while the service provider was left with 30 million rand.
The controversial agreement was signed during the time of Magashule and Mlamleli as prime minister of the Free State and MEC of agriculture, respectively.
