Picture: The former Municipal Manager at Ratlou Local Municipality/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
A fraud case against the former Municipal Manager at Ratlou Local Municipality, Cassius Sejake has been postponed by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to 12 June 2023 for pre-trial and legal consultation. In 2020, Sejake (46) was arrested by the Hawks on charges related to the contravention of Section 173 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
This comes after he allegedly flouted tender processes to the value of R7.8 million between 2018 and 2019, while he was the acting Municipal Manager at the municipality. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in North West, Henry Mamothame, Sejake allegedly failed as the then accounting officer to take reasonable steps to ensure that procurement processes were followed and observed.
“The service providers were allegedly appointed without a competitive bidding process. The state intends to file a notice for the court to investigate the numerous delays resulting in a series of postponements, attributed to Sejake withdrawing the services of his attorneys and appointing new ones.
“The NPA deems these delays to be unreasonable and hopes the court will make a ruling to halt further postponements on the matter. The investigations have long been completed and the state is ready to proceed with a pre-trial conference for the trial to commence,” he said.
Mamothame said Sejake’s bail of R5000 was extended until his next court appearance.
The Guardian 