MPUMALANGA’s sacked deputy speaker, Cynthia Maropeng, and three co-accused admitted to using almost R1-million in State funds to buy themselves houses and other personal items on Wednesday. Maropeng, legislature secretary Wilson Ngwenya, legislature finance director Jomo Siboza and former legislature secretary Alfred Mahlangu signed the admissions as part of a bid to speed up their trial on 36 theft charges. The trial, detailing alleged theft totalling an estimated R1,1-million from a legislature constituency fund, has dragged on for over one year without any evidence being led yet.