‘Bring it on’, says Chris Pappas as KZN Cogta announces probe against him over alleged nepotism

Umngeni local municipality Mayor Chris Pappas. Picture: Sihle Mavuso/IOL Politics

Umngeni local municipality Mayor Chris Pappas. Picture: Sihle Mavuso/IOL Politics

Published Sep 29, 2023

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Chris Pappas, the under fire DA mayor of Umngeni local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal who is facing an investigation, has dared MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi to bring it on.

— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) September 29, 2023

Pappas says he is ready for the probe which was announced by the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), as he has nothing to be afraid of.

He said this to IOL on Friday in Durban on the sidelines of the DA’s local government summit where he was the guest speaker and spoke to delegates about turning municipalities around and delivering services.

The MEC announced the probe on Thursday afternoon after allegations that Pappas favoured his former partner Jean Pierre Prinsloo for tourism funding and tenders in the municipality.

However, Pappas, the municipality and the DA have vehemently denied the allegations, saying everything was above board.

The municipality called the allegations a “smear campaign”, while the DA called the allegations “high school gossip”.

Pappas told IOL that ever since Sithole-Moloi announced the probe, he has not received any correspondence from her office.

“I have not received anything from her office about the investigation yet, but I can say that I am ready, she must bring it on,” Pappas said.

— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) September 29, 2023

In another sign that the investigation would not be a walk in the park for Sithole-Moloi, Martin Meyer, a DA member of the provincial legislature (MPL) who also serves in the Cogta portfolio committee, has heard that Sithole-Moloi wants to brief the committee about the mooted probe.

Meyer said should that be done, he was ready to ask them which Act allows them to convene such a meeting.

He said the committee’s duty is to conduct oversight on Cogta, not municipalities or be used to fight political battles.

Meanwhile, addressing the summit, Pappas spoke about how to turn municipalities around, saying officials sometimes hide behind non-existent acts to hinder decisions they don’t like.

— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) September 29, 2023

He said when you question them about the acts they claim would be breached, they fail to provide any.

Coming to being a hands-on mayor, he said the biggest challenge with politicians is that they leave everything to officials instead of getting themselves involved in municipal work without encroaching on the space for officials.

“But be careful of overstepping, doing things you are not supposed to. But the ideal way of doing things is to be hands-on, is to be accountable, it is fast-moving,” he said.

Pappas also told delegates that sometimes, when you take over as a mayor, you walk into a hostile environment where the culture of accountability is non-existent and some people are there to protect certain interests.

Speaking at the same summit, KZN South African Local Government Association (Salga) chairperson and King Cetshwayo district municipality mayor, Thami Ntuli warned that municipalities are facing a cash-crunch.

He says what is even more worrying is that government departments owe the province’s municipalities R3 billion, after the debt jumped from R800 million in 12 months.

sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za

IOL Politics