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Humphrey Mmemezi

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Controversial Gauteng local government and housing MEC Humphrey Mmemezi quit on Wednesday.

In a statement, he apologised for personal purchases made on a government credit card.

“After consultation with my organisation, through the ANC integrity committee and the provincial office bearers, I have decided that the most honourable thing to do under these circumstances is to step down from the executive council as the MEC,” he said.

He said he had paid the money back.

HITTING BACK

Mmemezi, who was in office for 18 months, said some of the allegations levelled at him recently were “patently false” and he intended taking legal steps regarding these.

“For instance, the allegation that I didn’t report the car accident [in KwaZulu-Natal in December] remains false. Some of the expenditure items published as costs incurred by me, such as the trip to London, are also false.

“All the allegations about my work in Mogale City are also blatantly untrue,” he said.

'WHERE THE MONEY WENT'

“There are, however, decisions that I deeply regret with regard to some of the personal purchases I made using the departmental credit card. From the briefing I received from officials in my department on the use of the corporate credit card and the ambiguity of the Ministerial Handbook, I got the impression that I could use the credit card for both official and personal purchases, as long as I could repay the department where there are personal expenses.

“It is for this reason that I deeply regret that I used the credit card to pay for the suits in India, the groceries in the local grocery store, and the artwork in the office,” he said.

THE APOLOGY

“These purchases were an error of judgement on my part for [which] I take full responsibility and would want to apologise profusely to the people of Gauteng.

“I have fully refunded government for these expenditure items long before these matters were in the public domain.” 

He continued: “...With the benefit of hindsight, I should have exercised more caution and prudence in matters of the use of the departmental corporate credit card.” 

FOR THE FUTURE

Mmemezi will continue being a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature.

“I have learnt a great deal from this mistake and will certainly ensure that it is not repeated,” Mmemezi said.

IN THE NEWS

His resignation comes after a series of articles in The Star which included allegations that he bought a painting using the government credit card from a fast food restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria, and that he allegedly inflated his daughter’s salary while he was human resources manager with the Mogale City municipality and she a junior member of staff.

His official vehicle was involved in an accident outside Krugersdorp in November, where teenager Thomas Ferreira was hit. It was involved in a second accident in KwaZulu-Natal in December 2011.

Comments

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Wed Jun 19 17:51:15 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 11, 2012

sakhomba

mara oom Humphrey o befile yong. anyway the most honorable thing was "not to steal from the taxpayer in the first place"
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Jul 11, 2012

eisleben

Well done and go well. It is people like you that make the masters of in-fighting a bad name. I think you should not have been an MEC in the first place. All deserve is to be an ambassador in some defunct homeland.
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Jul 11, 2012

veryslowmotion

He should be prosecuted!!!
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Jul 11, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

“After consultation with my organisation, through the ANC integrity committee and the provincial office bearers, I have decided that the most honourable thing to do under these circumstances is to step down from the executive council as the MEC,” he said.
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I wonder where are you going to be redeployed to as it is norm to reward incompetency and fraudsters.


What a sigh of relief............. I hope his other cadres wont take a leaf out of his book(s). Hhe has sure written quite a few during his tenure.


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Jul 11, 2012

kataleya

this is the best day of my life ,every dog has its own day.this ppl were thinking ANC belong to them especially in the west rand region now the current regional chair you are next boyce maneli.now let the hawks do thier job an arrest this old man ,please memezi dont come to mogale city .comeout '''''''
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Jul 11, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

@sakhomba
mara oom Humphrey o befile yong. anyway the most honorable thing was "not to steal from the taxpayer in the first place
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LOL! You would swear they all (cadres) go to the same dentist..............
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Jul 11, 2012

Vhamsanda

Good boy !!!
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Jul 11, 2012

Uncompromising

Its better to resign than be fired by Nomvula. Anyway, i bet they will be sharing a bottle of whisky tonight and laughing about this. Anyway, enjoy the MacDonald painting Mmmmmmmmmmemezi !
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Jul 11, 2012

lidodaduvha11

is that all? what about repaying? but anyway u deserve a respect and credit for the choice u made, let c if others will follow, u set an example that need to be followed by others like showers, they need to admit that they not peoples choice.
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Jul 11, 2012

Phunyukabemphethe

Why you did not admit for the first place. Good riddance
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