Property scam a Municipality ‘fleeced’
Port Elizabeth – The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has more than quadrupled its property portfolio after uncovering a scam it believes has fleeced the metro out of hundreds of millions of rands.
The extraordinary discovery comes after a land audit revealed thousands of “off the books” properties owned by the municipality all over the Bay.
Several municipal employees have been implicated in the scam.
The report was commissioned by mayor house three months ago‚ following a presentation by corporate services that outlined thousands of leases of municipal property which were unaccounted for.
Trollip‚ in turn‚ ordered a forensic audit into sub-directorates of both the corporate services and human settlements divisions.
The report delves into the sub-letting of commercial‚ residential and vacant land by the municipality‚ which it was unaware it even owned.
According to Trollip‚ the report will be given to the police for criminal investigation by early next year.