The Inkatha Freedom Party wants the Umgeni Water Board to make public the settlement offered to its CEO, Mr Cyril Gamede to leave the utility before his contract expires in August 2019 after anonymous accusations were made against him and others.
“We find it strange that the Board acted on an anonymous correspondence and suspended Mr Gamede on allegations of corruption and then on the day that he was to leave the utility, another anonymous letter exonerating him was received by the board. The circumstances surrounding Mr Gamede’s exit from the utility is highly suspicious given the fact that the accusations came from an unknown source as does the retraction. Now we hear that a settlement package has been worked out for his exit but according to the Board Spokesperson that package would remain confidential as it pertains to the previous extension of the contract until August 2019. It would appear that the anonymous accusations and subsequent retraction could have been orchestrated in order to avoid a legal dispute between the Board and Mr Gamede,” said IFP National Chairman, Mr Blessed Gwala.
“If there is nothing sinister around the settlement package, the Board must make the details public. The Umgeni Water Board is not a private company that is not obliged to disclose such information. It is a state owned entity and the public needs to know how the utility is handling tax payer’s money. The Board needs to play open cards and gain the confidence of the public by being transparent in its dealings. There have been far too many public officials who have walked away with huge golden handshakes at the expense of the public purse. We are not saying that this is a case in point, but if details of the settlement are kept secret then suspicions are aroused. We urge the outgoing Board to do the right thing before they leave office”, concluded Mr Gwala.
Issued by:
IFP National Chairman,
Mr Blessed Gwala MPL
078 290 5842
