The Democratic Alliance is trying to obtain a forensic report from the Collins Chabane municipality which the party believes will shed more light on who had authorised the illegal investment in VBS Mutual Bank.
According to Cllr Samson Muavha, a DA councillor in the Collins Chabane municipality, a Promotion to Access of Information Act (PAIA) application was submitted in an effort to force the municipality to make the report available. The municipality invested R120 million in the mutual bank, which many believe was run as a Ponzi scheme.
"The DA initiated the call for forensic investigations into the VBS debacle in order to hold the implicated officials and politicians liable for these illegal investments," said Muavha.
The DA further believes that municipal officials have tampered with the original report and drafted an own version of the report, allegedly in an attempt to omit crucial information that reveals the names of the implicated officials.
"Our attempts to get the original version, as well as the second edited version of the report, have been fruitless. It is clear that the Municipality is trying to hide some details and has failed to be transparent," said Muavha.
The municipality has 30 days to respond to the PAIA application. It can refuse to make the report available but will then have to supply legally valid reasons for refusing to do so.