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Hawks investigating three Western Cape municipalities
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Cape Town - The Hawks are following up reports that have emerged from three of the Western Capeâs 30 municipalities â Bitou, George and the Central Karoo District Municipality, which have been investigated for corruption in the last year.
The status update was the first of a series of quarterly updates from the provincial department of local government to the legislature on the status of all section 106 investigations. These investigations cover non-performance and maladministration.
The departmentâs specialised support director Gary Birch told the local government standing committee that the Matzikama municipality and the department were in litigation over the MECâs right to appoint independent investigators under the Municipal Systems Act.
Municipal officials frequently resign before investigations into corruption and fraud can be concluded, says the Western Cape department of local government. On Tuesday 9 March, the department briefed the provincial legislature on section 106 investigations in the province.
A section 106 investigation takes place when the MEC for local government either instructs a municipal manager to provide information, or designates another party to investigate whether maladministration, fraud, corruption or serious malpractices have occurred or are occurring in any given municipality.
Four section 106 investigations have been initiated or already finalised in the Western Cape:
Bitou Municipality: An investigation report was given to the municipality in 2019. Gary Birch, the department’s director for specialised support, told the legislature’s local government oversight committee that a law firm had been tasked with developing a plan to respond to the provincial government’s report. A co
Firefighters extinguish hot spots at scene of fire
The Leavenworth Times
Leavenworth’s fire chief said a fire at an old commercial building on Walnut Street was “basically out” Friday. But a crew from the Leavenworth Fire Department was on the scene to water down any smoldering hot spots that were unearthed during the demolition process.
The demolition of what remained of the fire-damaged building in the 500 block of Walnut Street began Thursday and continued Friday.
The fire was reported early Thursday morning. Leavenworth Fire Chief Gary Birch said the fire caused floors inside the building to collapse. The building’s roof also collapsed as well as an exterior wall.
Building fire remains under investigation
The Leavenworth Times
A Leavenworth building was demolished Thursday after an early morning fire caused portions of the structure to collapse.
The fire was reported at 12:46 a.m. Thursday in the 500 block of Walnut Street. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters worked throughout the day to extinguish the fire, which burned under debris from the collapsed structure.
Leavenworth Fire Marshal Andy Brooks said the fire was in a former commercial building that in recent years was used only for storage.
Members of the Leavenworth Fire Department went to that location in response to what was reported as a vehicle fire.