SWELLENDAM – Swellendam Municipality has committed at least R911,512 to two externally commissioned forensic investigations into alleged irregularities, yet questions remain over what action has followed the investigations and their findings.
The two investigations involved Nexus Forensic Services and Mubesko Africa.
Municipal records show that Nexus was appointed under SMQ43-24-25 to conduct a forensic investigation into alleged irregularities within the municipality’s Supply Chain Management processes.
The original appointment was valued at R209,926.06. A further R305,586.05 was subsequently approved after the municipality said the investigation proved considerably more complex than initially anticipated. This brought the documented value of the Nexus investigation to R515,512.11.
The municipality’s own explanation for the additional expenditure was that the investigation had expanded beyond the original estimate and that changing investigators during the process would not have been practical because the appointed investigators had already gained access to sensitive evidence.
The second investigation was commissioned from Mubesko Africa to investigate alleged irregularities involving the administration and processing of traffic fines.
The Nexus investigation was completed and its report was tabled before Council.
The report has subsequently been the subject of political debate, with different parties and political actors drawing different conclusions from its findings. The Press Council has also dealt with a complaint concerning reporting on the Nexus report, highlighting the importance of distinguishing what the report itself found from political interpretations of those findings.
The municipality approved the Mubesko appointment at R396,000. Its Supply Chain Managment report states that concerns had emerged regarding revenue collection, data integrity and procedural compliance and that a discreet forensic investigation was considered necessary.
Municipal records show that Mubesko was still being paid in February 2026. Four orders relating to the forensic investigation and associated disbursements totalled R74,207.43 during that month alone.
News62 previously reported that the Mubesko investigation had been completed and that its report had been tabled before Council. Speaker Du Toit Loubser said at the time that the report would be made available once Council had deliberated on it and taken a final decision.
Reports completed. What happened next?
This is where the questions begin.
The municipality has spent hundreds of thousands of rand commissioning outside investigators to examine allegations of irregularities.
But News62 has been unable, from the municipal records currently available, to establish a clear public record showing which recommendations arising from the investigations have been implemented, which have been rejected, which remain outstanding and what disciplinary or other action has followed.
That does not mean that no action has been taken. It means that the municipality has yet to provide News62 with a clear, documented account of the action taken following the investigations.
A forensic investigation is ultimately of limited value to ratepayers if its findings do not lead to appropriate corrective, disciplinary, recovery or law-enforcement action where such action is warranted.
Council attendance adds another question
The issue is further complicated by Council’s ability to deal with matters requiring political decisions.
News62 can confirm that an ANC councillor was absent from the most recent important meeting at which the matter required consideration.
The significance of that absence is a matter that should be explained by the municipality and the councillor concerned.
News62 is not suggesting that the ANC’s absence, by itself, proves that forensic recommendations were deliberately blocked or ignored. It just raised more questions and perhaps an investigation into the general attendance of certain council members at important meetings and events.
News62 has in the meantime been furnished with and official complaint against, who we understand is the same councillor that missed the last meeting, which dates back to 17 May 2026. No less than 140 residents had signed the petition, but no action was forthcoming from Council.
More investigations despite hard facts on the table?
While questions remain around the implementation of earlier investigations, Swellendam Municipality advertised another investigation in June 2026.
SMQ77-25-26, titled “Provision of Financial Misconduct Investigating Services”, closed on 19 June 2026. It was classified as a consulting, forensic auditing and accounting services procurement.
News62 has not yet been able to establish a publicly disclosed final award value or identify the successful service provider from the municipal records reviewed.
That means ratepayers could now be paying for another investigation while questions surrounding the implementation and outcomes of previous investigations remain unanswered.
It could also mean that, if the findings of those investigations were of such a nature that criminal charges warranted consideration, the municipality may have remained exposed to potential financial or legal consequences, despite various individuals allegedly having been identified during the initial investigations.
The ratepayer question
The documented value of the Nexus and Mubesko investigations alone comes to: R515,512.11 + R396,000 = R911,512.11
That is the documented value of the two appointments, not a claim that this entire amount has necessarily already been paid. And it excludes the cost of the new financial-misconduct investigation under SMQ77-25-26.
The question for Council is therefore not simply how much has been spent investigating alleged irregularities?
It is: What has Swellendam Municipality actually done with the findings? If recommendations were made, which ones were implemented? If recommendations were not implemented, who made that decision and why? If disciplinary proceedings were recommended, were they instituted? If financial losses were identified, has any money been recovered? If criminal conduct was identified or suspected, were matters referred to the relevant law-enforcement authorities? And if Council has not yet acted on completed reports, why not?
And finally, does Swellendam Municipality stand to lose its record run of clean audits?
News62 provided Swellendam Municipality, The Mayor, Speaker and Municipal Manager with the questions raised in this article and afforded them a reasonable timeframe in which to respond.
