According to a source, the councillors, who cannot be named yet, are alleged to have failed to declare their business interests while their companies went on to do business with the municipality.

They were later reported to the Auditor General's (AG) office, and a report has since been sent to the municipality following an investigation. 

According to the municipality's mayor and political head, Jeff Zwane, the council has received the report into the allegations, but it is yet to sit and deliberate on it. 

He adds that decisions or recommendations will only be taken once the council has seen the report.

In terms of Schedule 1 of the code of conduct for councillors, it is mandatory that councillors elected to the council should disclose to the municipal council, or to any committee of which that councillor is a member, any direct or indirect personal or private business interest that the councillor, or any spouse, partner or business associate of that councillor may have in any matter before the council or the committee; and withdraw from the proceedings of the council or committee when that matter is considered by the council or committee, unless the council or committee decides that the councillor's direct or indirect interest in the titter is trivial or irrelevant.

A councillor who, or whose spouse, partner, business associate or close family member acquired or stands to acquire any direct benefit from a contract concluded with the municipality, must disclose full particulars of the benefit of which the councillor is aware at the first meeting of the municipal council at which it is possible for the councillor to make the disclosure.

In June 2022, AG Tsakani Maluleke revealed that Free State municipalities continued their wasteful spending of taxpayers' money with irregular expenditure increasing by almost R2 billion.

ALSO READ: Free State municipalities' irregular spending grows by R2 billion

She said the irregular expenditure increased from R7.63 billion to R9.18 billion. 

Maluleke, in her report, says the audit outcomes of the province regressed over the term of the previous administration because the Municipal Public Accounts Committees did not perform timeous investigations.

Whilst addressing Members of Parliament (MPs), she also revealed that three cash-strapped municipalities, including the Qwaqwa-based Maluti-A-Phofung, the Theunissen-based Masilonyana, and the Boshof-based Tokologo Local Municipalities failed to trace the trail of money spent by the municipalities.

ALSO READ: Free State municipalities fail to trace taxpayers' money

Free State municipalities are also said to have been outsourcing their responsibility by appointing consultants after year-end to prepare financial statements and to construct and correct the underlying information. 

Maluleke said that a total of R254 million had been spent on consultants since 2016/17.

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