The businessman who took over Julius Malema’s unfinished multi-million rand Sandown house that he had bought over from the auction is also accused of tax fraud.

The Times reported that Norman Tloubatla – the owner of Lethlabile Civils and road sign manufacturing company Magnified Designs – has also been served with a letter of demand from Power Forklift Hire and Sales’ attorneys for R40955.82 .

Tloubatla, 43, bought Malema’s triple-storey house on auction for R5.9-million.

The house was one of the assets SARS attached to recover R16-million in unpaid tax from Malema.

According to documentation submitted to SARS, Tloubatla allegedly fabricated invoices to evade tax.

Tloubatla was enraged when asked to comment on these matters, saying: “Voetsek (get lost). Go write something else.”

A whistleblower, who cannot be named, was hired as a senior manager at both Tloubatla companies said he was shocked that Tloubatla could afford to spend millions of rands on cars when his company did not have the material to produce road signs and clients had to wait for months to receive their orders.

“It is incomprehensible that …Tloubatla is able to purchase in cash such a fleet of luxury vehicles worth R8-million, and two penthouses, when the average monthly gross revenue of his main operating company, Magnified Designs, is R700000,” the man told SARS.

SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay confirmed the matter was reported to it on Thursday.

Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za

Durban – The Democratic Alliance intends laying charges against former eThekwini metro councillors implicated in a controversial forensic audit report, it announced on Monday.

At a public meeting in Durban, DA eThekwini caucus leader Zwakele Mncwango said it would bring charges against former councillors who were alleged to have unlawfully sold RDP houses.

The unlawful sale of RDP housing emerged in a forensic report into corruption in the eThekwini Metro municipality compiled by Manase and Associates.

“The report states that some councillors , who are currently sitting on council, were selling houses, and some had already left the municipality,” said Mncwango.

“So, what we will be doing this week, we will be laying charges against those councillors who have left the municipality.”

He would ask the speaker of the municipality, Logie Naidoo, to launch an internal investigation into those councillors who still held office.

No evidence of cases opened

According to the report, the 17 allegations relating to the unlawful RDP housing were handed to the Special Investigating Unit.

However, Mncwango said the DA could not find any evidence that cases had been opened.

The 17 allegations given to Manase and Associates to investigate came from complaints made to the presidential hotline.

One councillor named in the report allegedly sold houses for R20 000 each.

Mncwango said the party would provide details on Thursday of the cases opened, the case numbers and against whom the cases had been opened.

DA co-operative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson John Steenhuisen said the DA would examine the Manase report and see if former municipal officials implicated had been hired by other municipalities and whether those municipalities were aware of the allegations against them.

“What we cannot have is a revolving door system where politicians and officials who do wrong simply move into another municipality or another sphere of government. We need to stop that revolving door,” he said.

Comment could not be obtained from the SIU. 

SAPA

Rustenburg – None of the 14 expelled and reinstated Tlokwe councillors are candidates in the by-elections being held next month, the ANC North West said on Monday.

“None of them are on the list,” said African National Congress North West spokesman Ishmael Mnisi.

The ANC’s 10 candidates for the September 18 elections were Macro Mothopeng, Jimmy Msindi, Jefta Monaise, Glenrose Maroganye, Duduetsang Modise, Thabo Melamu, Thapelo Skhosana, Dodo Maneli, Oupa Mogoshane, and Pogiso Maetla.

The 14 councillors were expelled in July after the provincial disciplinary committee (PDC) found them guilty of four counts of misconduct for participating in a motion of no confidence against Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle.

He was replaced by Democratic Alliance councillor Annette Combrink.

On Sunday, the ANC’s national disciplinary committee (NDC) said it had overturned the PDC’s decision.

NDC chairman Derek Hanekom said it was found that misconduct charge was brought seven months after the alleged incident when the ANC constitution stated that charges be instituted within three months.

The 14 were also charged with failing to endorse the appointment of the municipal manager in June.

Hanekom said the NDC had found that the evidence put forward by the councillors for not supporting Maphetle was “possibly true”.

In a statement, the ANC’s provincial working committee said it accepted the decision to reinstate the councillors.

“The decision enhances the unity and cohesion of the ANC in Tlokwe and the province in general,” it said.

“We hope that the reinstated members will now conduct themselves in keeping with the ANC constitution, principles and values and that they will put the interest of the organisation above everything else.”

Sapa