THE SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) has accused Cacadu District municipal manager Ted Pillay of protecting an official linked to serious allegations of fraud and corruption.
The union claims Pillay failed to act on information which allegedly proved corruption by an official in the municipality, because he was biased towards staff that were close to him.
Samwu national spokesman Tahir Sema said the union reported the allegations to Pillay in July, but there had been no outcome to date.
"The union alleges that Tilani Botes was actively involved in giving her husband municipal business to translate various documents.
"At the time the contract was awarded to her husband, their company had no tax certificate and was not even registered on the database as a supplier," Sema alleged.
"To make matters worse, the company does not even have the necessary expertise to perform such work. Pillay to this date has not made the report available to the union so that we can prove that there has been no fraud and corruption committed.
"Instead he wrote a letter telling the union there is no act of fraud or corruption committed by Botes and the other official involved," Sema said.
Pillay has denied any cover-up, saying the claims were investigated.
"I commissioned a reputable and independent audit company to investigate the matter," Pillay said. "The report reveals there is no fraud and corruption related to the allegations.
"On receipt of the report from the audit company I immediately submitted the entire report to my council on October 10."
But the union has accused Pillay of acting inconsistently, because he suspended other officials for similar offences.
"This union cannot accept the fact that [Pillay] turns a blind eye when allegations are levelled against certain officials within the municipality, particularly white officials."
The union said it had reported the matter to Local Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane to investigate and added it planned to also report it to the public protector.
