GCC kept Daisy Loo in the dark

OLIVER MODISE
Staff Writer | Friday November 30, 2007 00:00

 

This emerged as the fraud case against Frank Molaletsi, Gilbert Sithole, Frank Stegling, Bitsang Abby and Daisy Loo cleaning company and its managing director Moemedi Dijeng continued on Wednesday. The four are in the dock on a charge of conspiring to defraud the GCC over P24 million.

After a month's adjournment, lawyer Unoda Mack for Daisy Loo and Dijeng took over from Sithole's lawyer Dick Bayford in cross-examining former GCC deputy clerk, Molefi Keaja.

Under cross-examination by Mack, Keaja maintained that he was not aware that Daisy Loo was doing some work along the Segoditshane riverbed. He said that he only got to know about it after Daisy Loo presented a P24 million invoice to GCC. After the invoice, Keaja said he and the former city clerk Margaret Mabua convened a special meeting in August 2004 and presented a report on the Daisy Loo claim.

Mack brought Keaja's attention to the minutes recorded at the meeting, in which Mabua and Keaja briefed the committee and councillors about the Daisy Loo contract. From the meeting, it has emerged that council management acknowledged Daisy Loo for a job well done.

However, the report indicated that the council management was shocked to realise that Daisy Loo was claiming over P24 million. Mack argued that all along the council was aware of the Daisy Loo contract but raised objections because it did not agree with the P24 million invoice.  

The court was told that subsequent to a meeting that reviewed the rates, the GCC instructed Daisy Loo to clear the area along the Segoditshane river on the understanding that the rates had been reviewed.

A letter presented in court shows that Cleaning Wizards was given instructions to do grass cutting and bush clearing by Goleba Gaefele, a junior officer that Keaja said he did not know. He said he was not aware of the contract signed by Gaefele. 

'Can you say it was a conspiracy between Gaefele and Cleaning Wizard,' questioned Mack.

During cross-examination, Mack demanded to know why Keaja said that he was never aware of the work along Segoditshane river bed contrary to his statement during arbitration. However, responding to Mack, Keaja said that he was not officially aware of the work.

In another twist, the second state witness Doreen Segwela, a council technical officer who was supervising cleaning companies said that after Molaletsi left to join the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Sithole convened a meeting and informed them that companies engaged in grass cutting and bush clearing had to stop work because the council has no money.

'Gaefele asked Sithole why Daisy Loo was continuing to cut grass and bush clearing along Segoditshane,' said Segwela. She said Sithole replied that Daisy Loo is working for the Ministry of Agriculture.

'Did you find out who was to pay for it,' asked the prosecutor Leatile Dambe. 'He had explained that the Ministry of Agriculture would pay,' came the reply.

Segwela confirmed that she was present at the opening of the tender for bush clearing where she and colleague Tshepang Makobo recorded the proceedings. She was tasked with recording the tender areas, the companies allocated as well as the amount charged by each company.

'I checked with Makobo to see if I have written the figures correctly before taking them for typing. I wanted to confirm that I had noted down the exact figures,' she added.

Afterwards, she handed the minutes to Sithole and kept a copy. Segwela said that a few months later, Sithole informed her that SA Shipers and Call a Skip were threatening to go to court on claims that their tender bids had been cancelled.

'He alleged that there is someone within our department who has altered the figures,' she said. She added that Sithole told him Stegling had altered the figures. The case continues today.