ANC and opposition councillors of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan MuniciÂpality stand to gain handsomely from a controversial land deal, which may have robbed the municipality of millions of rands.
The Mail & Guardian has also established that two of the stands in the Meyersdal Nature Estate were bought and then sold by Gauteng local government minister Dorothy Mahlangu. According to forensic investigators, the development was pushed through ”irregularly”.
A forensic investigation, commissioned by Ekurhuleni city manager Patrick Flusk, has found that a controversial land-swap of prime Alberton land was ”managed and entered into primarily” by two senior managers of the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality’s legal department who have since resigned.
The M&G reported last week on Flusk’s allegation that land ”worth not less than R100-million” was alienated to developer Rean Booysen for ”the paltry sum of some R7-million”.
His affidavit forms part of a court application by Booysen to compel the municipality to furnish him with a certificate confirming that the estate’s engineering services are in order. Booysen needs this to transfer the stands, most of which have been secured, to its owners.
Flusk refuses to issue the certificate pending the outcome of a final forensic investigation into the land deal. The M&G is in possession of the preliminary findings of the probe, conducted by advisory firm Pasco Risk Management.
The M&G also has in its possession a schedule of people who have already entered into contracts with the marketing agency for options to buy plots in the sought-after development, which borders the Klipriviersberg nature reserve.
They include:
o ANC councillor Neil Diamond, who is also the marketing agent of Meyerdal Nature Estate and owns part of the development;
o ANC councillor Leon van Ronge, chairperson of the Ekurhuleni council’s development committee, who allegedly ”interfered with the administration” of the estate;
o DA councillor Bruna Haipel, who sits on the council’s infrastructure services committee, which recommended that the engineering certificate be issued; and
o Independent Ratepayers’ Association councillor Izak Berg, who recently lashed out at the amounts paid by the municipality to Pasco and to the lawyers of Ekurhuleni metro police boss Robert McBride.
Diamond told the M&G this week that he had recused himself from two council meetings at which the Meyersdal Nature Estate was discussed and had declared his interest in the developing company to Ekurhuleni.
He also admitted meeting Flusk to discuss the outstanding certificate, saying that it is possible for him to wear different hats at different times.
Van Ronge denied any conflict of interest, asking whether this meant he could never buy land in Ekurhuleni. Diamond confirmed that Van Ronge did not pay a deposit on his land option, but said this was because he knew Van Ronge from previous land deals and that he would pay.
Haipel denied that she had anything to do with the approval of the land-swap deal. But she confirmed to the M&G earlier that she had sat on the council committee that approved the engineering certificates. She said she paid a deposit.
Berg said he and his wife bought the properties during an open day, each paying a R40 000 deposit. He investigated the land deal himself and could not find ”anything wrong with the transaction”. He denies taking part in any decisions regarding the estate.
Mahlangu told the M&G she bought two stands on the open day, but had since sold them. She would not say how much she paid for the stands.
On potential conflicts of interest, Mahlangu said: ”As the political head of the department of local government whose mandate among others is land management, I don’t have any other interest in any other land in the province.”
The DA this week asked for Flusk’s suspension because of his alleged irregular authorisation of R12-million to be paid to Pasco.
Asked whether this was not an attempt to divert attention from Pasco’s investigation, the DA’s caucus leader in the metro, Eddie Taylor, said ”two wrongs don’t make a right”.
Flusk maintains it was ”impractical” for him to put the contract out to tender. ”I had to keep the investigation quiet.”
It is believed that former city manager Paul Maseko originally mandated Pasco to investigate alleged corruption at Ekurhuleni’s workshops. A final report, also in the M&G‘s possession, states that 11 workshop employees had resigned after being confronted with Pasco’s report and one employee was dismissed.
Pasco alleges that the council suffered a loss of about R30-million through ”fruitless and wasteful expenditure”.
Pasco says it uncovered a business relationship between some of the workshop service providers under investigation and Booysen, which partly led to the Meyersdal probe.
The council also received an anonyÂmous tip-off letter through the Public Service Commission’s corruption hotline claiming corruption in the land deal.
The preliminary findings on the Meyersdal Nature Estate allege serious procedural flaws with the Booysen land-swap, including legal advice from senior counsel Wim Trengove which was ”deliberately ignored”.
Pasco’s report alleges that the public was not able to ”responsibly and adequately” attend meetings where the land-swap was discussed; that the properties were incorrectly valued; that the property received by the council was not valued before the land exchange and that the council might have lost millions of rands.
Booysen this week rejected Pasco’s claims, saying that Flusk is ”trying to use the Section 82 certificate [for engineering services] to justify the expenses on Pasco”.
Diamond and Booysen have also alleged that Flusk himself has an option on a stand in the nature estate, which he vehemently denies.
Flusk said: ”They are talking absolute nonsense. They have tried all the tricks in the book to stop the investigation and clearly failed — They have attempted to smear the professionalism of this investigation and the reputation of the investigators. Pasco has done a sterling job.”
Diamond in the dust
Cursed with the same name as the American pop singer, Neil Diamond is Alberton’s man about town.
Born and bred in Alberton, Diamond drives a massive white Mercedes-Benz and wears Pringle shirts. His cellphone ringtone is Jacob Zuma’s theme-song, Umshini Wami.
Diamond started working as an estate agent in 1993 and entered politics in 2000.
He has elastic political convictions, being elected to the Ekurhuleni council for the DA, becoming an independent councillor in 2002 and joining the ANC in 2006.
Diamond is well known in Meyersdal, often labelled ”the Sandton of the East Rand”. But he earned widespread loathing last year when he expressed relief at the murder of school principal and activist Nick Karvelas, who strongly opposed the Meyersdal land-swap.