[ad_1]
By Chulumanco Mahamba 
15h ago
Johannesburg – The former interim city manager of the local Ratlou municipality has become the latest government official to be arrested by the Hawks after allegedly failing to follow bidding processes in awarding tenders to the tune of R5.8 millions.
Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation spokesman Capt.Tlangelani Rikhotso said Monday that 45-year-old Cassius Sebatane Sejake was arrested after he allegedly awarded a tender irregularly in 2018 and last year while serving as city manager of the northwest municipality.
Footage from the arrest showed the Hawks arriving at Sejake’s offices Monday morning and arresting the acting city manager as his colleagues watched and others took pictures of the handcuffed man in a suit as he made his way to the Hawks’ vehicle. The images appeared on social media.
“It is alleged that, as an accountant, the suspect failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the public procurement processes were followed and observed. The service providers were allegedly appointed without a competitive bidding process, ”Rikhotso said.
In July last year, employees at the municipality outside Mahikeng threw away their tools after citing concerns and unhappiness with Sejake.
OFM News reported that the protesters were unhappy as employees were transferred, suspended and fired without following proper processes.
The strike that was allegedly led by the South African National Civic Organization saw protesters attempting to attack Sejake and police shooting them with rubber bullets.
In September of last year, Sejake was suspended on allegations of financial misconduct, corruption and nepotism.
Rikhotso said that Sejake made a brief appearance at the Atamelang Magistrates Court, where he was charged with wasteful and wasteful spending for violating Section 173 of the Municipal Finance Management Act. The matter was postponed until today to allow Sejake to submit a formal request for bail.
The star
[ad_2]
