Hawks to investigate Makhado councillor

A former DA councillor at the Makhado Municipality is currently being investigated by the Hawks for possible fraud. It is alleged that he sold RDP houses meant for the poor in Tshikota.

Councillor Itani Sikhwari resigned from the DA on Sunday and announced that he had now joined the ANC. Sikhwari was the DA’s proportional representative on the council.

One of the accusations against Sikhwari is that he sold house number 1326 in Tshikota to Ms Ellen Moeti from Vleifontein for an amount of R34 000. Ms Moeti said she was desperate to find a house and when she was approached by Sikhwari, she thought it to be an opportunity to secure her own home in Tshikota.

Sikhwari’s legal representative compiled the necessary documents and, in May last year, she paid over a deposit of R19 000. In August, she paid the balance of R14 000. When a period of time had expired during which nothing happened, Moeti got suspicious and went to the municipal offices to enquire about the site. According to her, the officials indicated that the specific house had already been allocated to another person. "I then went out to search for the house, using the number allocated to me. I was shocked to discover that someone was already occupying the house," she said.

Moeti also complains that she did not receive much assistance from the municipality. They allegedly told her that they could not act on behalf of someone who had paid a bribe. She then went to her lawyer, Mr Desmond Mphaphuli, who corresponded with Sikhwari. In January, Sikhwari paid back R20 000 and promised to pay back the balance before the end of February. Mr Mphaphuli commented this week and said that Sikhwari had visited him on the 24th of last month. He promised to pay the outstanding amount the next day, but this did not happen.

Ms Moeti may not be the only one complaining about the conduct of the councillor. Two women from Madombidzha and Rathidili are also alleging that they bought RDP houses from Sikhwari. They prefer to remain anonymous at this stage, but re willing to provide documentation showing the deposits they had made. They are still without any houses.

The spokesperson for the police in Limpopo, Col Ronel Otto, confirmed this week that a case of fraud is being investigated. The case was referred to the police’s special unit, the Hawks. According to a spokesperson for the Hawks, Mr Paul Ramaloko, their investigations are continuing.

The spokesperson for the municipality, Mr Louis Bobodi, confirmed that Sikhwari had resigned as DA councillor and that he had indicated he was joining the ANC. Bobodi said they had not received a formal complaint from any of the people alleging that they had bought sites from the councillor.

Sikhwari was contacted for a response, but he did not want to comment. “You are journalists, do your job,” he said.

News - Date: 04 April 2014

Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

Email: [email protected]