Mmegi

Fraud scandal renders Gabs mayor ‘unfit for duty’

• Councillor says Mayor unfit for office, proposes ‘vote of no confidence’ • Those who gave you this information are bitter people — Mayor

Sharon Mathala

Sparks are expected to fly at next Gaborone City Council meeting after a PPADB letter surfaced of Gaborone Mayor Austin Abraham’s corruption involvement leading to his suspension at the asset disposal board and raising ‘confidence’ issues.

According to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPDAB) circular No7 of 2021, Abraham and his business associates through their company attempted to ‘cheat the system’ and ‘lied’ to be awarded a tender.

“The board at its sitting of March 25, 2021, found thus against the contractor having been found guilty on February 18, 2021, for submitting false information to PPADB in support of its application for registration with regard to past projects carried out in contravention of Clause 4.1 of the Code of Conduct for Contractors and having been accorded an opportunity to make submissions in mitigation before sentencing,” reads the letter.

The letter further states that the board resorted to suspending the mayor and his business associate, one Sambulo Sibanda from participating in any government tender: “The current shareholders Sambulo

Sibanda and Austin Abraham are suspended from participating in government procurement and asset disposal in terms of Regulation 7 (1) (a) (ii) of the suspension and delisting regulations.”

The mayor and his associates were banned for 30 months, a period which lapses on September 25. The letter was a hot topic of debate at a recent council budget sitting where some councillors were of the view that the mayor cannot preside over the budget of the council if he has been found guilty of ‘corruption’ and ‘fraud’ which subsequently led to his suspension by the PPADB.

At the council sitting, Naledi North councillor, Oarabile Motlaleng presented that the mayor was “not fit for duty, as per the PPADB letter of suspension”.

Motlaleng told The Monitor on the sidelines of the meeting that the letter is clear he is not supposed to participate in anything that relates to government tenders. “He has been delisted; he is still suspended. I want to submit a motion of no confidence, but we couldn’t do so at this meeting because they disrupted the proceedings. How can he preside over the capital city budget when he has been found guilty of issues relating to money and tenders? We can’t be led by a corrupt mayor.” “I will be submitting a motion of no confidence against the mayor in the next session and we can only hope that the BDP {Botswana Democratic Party} too will agree to this because we cannot be led by a mayor who is embroiled in corruption scandals,” the councillor said. Reached for comment, the mayor who was at pains to respond said: “Those people who gave you the information are bitter and it is all politics.” Prodded further, the mayor then referred The Monitor to his attorneys before saying, “No comment.”

The mayor and his associates were banned for 30 months, a period which lapses on September

25

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2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281530820261405

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