A former ANC councillor Danville Smith, has been arrested after he failed to appear in the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court on August 16.
Smith, 39, handed himself to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Thursday.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said Smith’s arrest comes after a lengthy investigation into irregularities at the Cederberg Municipality, where he served as councillor until 2016.
“Smith and his co-accused Peter Blankenberg who was the district committee member for Ward 5 in Lambert’s Bay and Clanwilliam Municipality, are facing charges relating to alleged corruption that occurred during the planning of Mandela Day celebrations in Lambert’s Bay on 18 July 2016.”
The pair are charged with corruption, fraud, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
They are accused of pocketing R25 000 after submitting an invoice from a company for R28 200 and getting one of the owners of the company to keep R3 200, despite the company not rendering a service.
Blankenberg also faces charges of not disclosing that his brother was a director of one of the companies that was paid nearly R30 000 for sound and entertainment.
According to the charge sheet, Blankenberg approached a company to submit an invoice for food parcels which was submitted two days after the event, and the amount paid a day later, despite there not being any food parcels provided.
Last year Smith, who denies the accusations, voluntarily stepped aside from the ANC.
The duo is expected back in court on 5 September 2022.
-IOL
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