Makana's top money man Jackson Ngcelwane says he'll stand on top of the Cathedral for a week if he's found guilty of fraud or corruption.
The municipality's Chief Financial Officer wrote this in a letter [download the full letter] to Executive Mayor, Zamuxolo Peter – one of many he says have gone unanswered – begging him to break the silence over his suspension, which has dragged on since May.
Makana's top money man Jackson Ngcelwane says he'll stand on top of the Cathedral for a week if he's found guilty of fraud or corruption.
The municipality's Chief Financial Officer wrote this in a letter [download the full letter] to Executive Mayor, Zamuxolo Peter – one of many he says have gone unanswered – begging him to break the silence over his suspension, which has dragged on since May.
Now he's declared war, saying that Makana's ratepayers, who continue to pay his salary while he sits at home, must be told what's really happening.
In his letter to Peter Ngcelwane says he's willing to give the Makana Municipality access to his bank or trust accounts to investigate and asks for the chance to tell his side of the story.
"I am not a corrupt person and I hate corruption in the same way as I hated apartheid," Ngcelwane wrote. "I have not stolen any cent from Makana Municipality nor have I solicited any bribes from anyone in my time of being employed by this municipality."
"If I am found to have fraudulently or corruptly eaten money from the municipality, I am more than willing to stand on top of the Cathedral for seven days or the whole week and apologise profusely to the communities of Makana and pay back in whatever way or method as per the verdict of any highest court in the land."
Ngcelwane said he was prepared to undergo a lifestyle audit – but by an independent professional forensic auditor, properly appointed by Council, and not by the Municipal Manager, Ntombi Baart, as had already happened. He said he was prepared to have the findings publicly known.
He said it "hurts" him and destroys his integrity and professional career to read of allegations in reports never availed to him, alleging he had been careless or reckless in the municipality's financial affairs.
"In my view this whole matter is no longer about an employer/ employee relations, it is about the whole Makana Council, Community of Makana vs MJ Ngcelwane, and I am equally prepared for that war," he said.
Peter told Grocott's Mail he had received this letter, dated 30 October 2011, as well as many others. "The mater is under investigation. Some of the letters I could not respond to personally, as it is an institutional matter," Peter said.
He said he had forwarded the letters to the lawyers representing the municipality in this matter, since they were written on the letterheads of Ngcelwane's lawyers. "This is a sensitive matter which involves the integrity of the person and the institution and it has to be handled in a sensitive way," Peter said.
Ngcelwane said he would like his name, which he regards as a valuable brand, intact when he leaves Makana Municipality on 30 June next year.
In the letter, Ngcelwane also reveals that he has been given two versions of charge sheets. He also says certain areas in the municipality should be investigated, such as underspending, certain payments authorised by Baart and the head-hunting of people to fill crucial finance posts.
Download the full letter (PDF):
