Swellendam Municipality Speaker Du Toit Loubser confirmed on 1 June that an investigation into allegations within the Municipality’s Traffic Department has been completed and that the report will be made public once Council has deliberated on its contents and taken a final decision.
The development comes nearly a year after News62 first reported on alleged procedural irregularities at a roadblock following multiple complaints from members of the public.
Read: Swellendam Roadblock Saga
“The Mubesko Report has been tabled before Council. It will be made available once Council has fully deliberated on the report and taken a final decision. The matter remains ongoing,” Loubser said in a statement.
The report is understood to have cost the Municipality in excess of R300 000.
While Council has remained largely silent on the matter, News62 has been informed by sources familiar with the process that the report has recommend precautionary action against several senior officials.
Documents seen by News62 indicate that Swellendam Municipal Council was requested to consider allegations of corruption and financial misconduct involving officials within the Traffic Department, as well as possible implications for the Municipal Manager.
According to the documents, Council was asked to determine whether there were reasonable grounds to believe that financial misconduct may have occurred and whether the matter should be referred for further investigation in terms of the Municipal Regulations on Financial Misconduct Procedures and Criminal Proceedings.
The documents further indicate that disciplinary action should ordinarily not be instituted before a full investigation has been conducted and affected parties have been afforded an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
The period reportedly afforded to affected parties to submit representations expired on 29 May, yet at the time of publication no action was taken.
This is either a situation the allegations had not been tested through a disciplinary process and no findings had been made against any individual, or the majority of council voted against taking immediate action.
Questions Raised Over Previous Suspensions
Questions have also been raised regarding the handling of previous suspension matters involving municipal employees.
During 2025, Swellendam Municipality suspended two employees on corruption allegations. One official, attached to the Supply Chain Management division, remained on suspension with full pay for approximately eight months. A second official attached to the Traffic Department was suspended for approximately three months.
“Regarding costs associated with suspensions and disciplinary processes of the two officials, the Municipality did not incur any additional expenditure beyond the normal salaries prescribed by labour legislation,” Loubser said.
Officials continued to receive their normal remuneration during their suspensions.
“In one case, disciplinary proceedings were suspended as whistleblowers declined to testify.
“In the second case, disciplinary proceedings were temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. No additional costs were borne by the Municipality in either matter,” the statement read.
Based on publicly available salary information and the duration of the suspensions, News62 estimates that remuneration paid during these suspension periods, along with the Mubesko Report, may have amounted to several hundred thousand rand.
About Mubesko Africa
Mubesko Africa is a South African consulting firm founded in 2007 that provides specialised financial accounting, asset accounting and forensic services to both the public and private sectors.
The firm is known for advising municipalities and local government institutions on compliance, governance, audit outcomes and service delivery matters.
