Cape Town - Anti-crime activist Hanif Loonat continued with his anti-corruption crusade against the City of Cape Town when he lodged yet another complaint with the police alleging “fraud and corruption” in a R59 million tender.
Speaking outside the Cape Town Central police station where he lodged the complaint, accompanied by Cape Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams, Loonat said: “Multiple departments, including safety and security, are implicated.”
Loonat said he believed corruption was rife in the City’s safety and security department and he had lodged the complaint with the police in the hope that the commercial crimes unit would investigate the matter.
“I am confident that heads will roll in that department,” Loonat said.
Adams said he had tried to raise the matter at the City and had been frustrated because nobody was answering his questions.
“The overspending on the tender was stratospheric and mind-boggling.”
Ahead of the lodging of the complaint against the City, mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith posted a statement on his Facebook page in which he said he had been made aware that baseless allegations were being made against him, promising his “imminent arrest”.
Smith said this was not the first time such allegations had been made and that “previous attempts were labelled by SAPS as time-wasting”.
He said he had ignored the accusations so far, “but as the crucial 2024 national elections draw closer, we cannot allow such individuals the opportunity to confuse residents by means of such deceit”.
Smith said he had written to the speaker of council to register a complaint against “those guilty of such misinformation campaigns, while also considering seeking a personal order within our courts for damages caused against my reputation”.
ANC councillor Banele Majingo said: “The ANC caucus urges law enforcement agents to provide support to anyone whose intention is to fight corruption.”
He said success in the fight against corruption in the City was far from guaranteed as long as there were structural obstacles “such as entrenched cronyism, which continue to undermine anti-corruption efforts. Be that as it may, we will not be deterred.”
United Independent Movement (UIM) party councillor Neil de Beer said: “In my opinion the investigation should be carried out via an open-book policy and the City must give its full support to it, and justice must be seen to be done.”
Meanwhile, Loonat repeated his appeal to the City to release an internal forensic report on corruption in the housing portfolio.
Responding to this claim, the City said: “The report has, in fact, been released to SAPS, the auditor-general and the City’s multiparty municipal public accounts committee (MPAC). SAPS have asked that it not be shared further so as to not compromise the criminal investigation.
“Generally forensic reports are not released for this reason. This report… is actually an example of the City’s proactive zero-tolerance approach to corruption and co-ordination with the authorities from the get-go.”