A COMMISSION of inquiry has been appointed to probe the uMngeni municipality, the KwaZulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs department said yesterday.

A COMMISSION of inquiry has been appointed to probe the uMngeni municipality, the KwaZulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs department said yesterday.

The commission would investigate the behaviour of the municipal manager and if this had compromised the municipality's credibility and integrity, MEC Nomusa Dube said.

It would also look into the manager's alleged failure to comply with a South African Human Rights Commission ruling on the rating of retirement villages in the uMngeni municipality.

Dube said the manager has been suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. She said the report of a two-year forensic investigation into allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption at the municipality was presented to the council in July last year.

It recommended, among other matters, that the council take immediate disciplinary action against certain senior officials responsible for actions ranging from irregular activities to gross financial misconduct.

However, the uMngeni municipality was unhappy with the probe and it agreed to obtain legal advice, which indicated that the forensic report had set out the full basis of its finding with supporting documentation.

The commission of inquiry was a result of this process.

Part of its task would be to determine whether any municipal employees had committed misconduct with regards to the forensic investigation. - Sapa