ANC Northern Cape provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga indicated in a tweet that the party’s step-aside rule should apply following the arrest of Kai !Garib deputy regional chairperson and ZF Mgcawu district mayor Marius Louw.
ANC NORTHERN Cape provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga indicated in a tweet that the party’s step-aside rule should apply following the arrest of Kai !Garib deputy regional chairperson and ZF Mgcawu district mayor Marius Louw.
Louw’s supporters, however, claimed that he would remain the ANC Kai !Garib leader and instead called for Ngxanga to step aside.
Louw, along with his wife Gerda Louw and co-accused Mr Beukes and Mrs Isaaks, were arrested by the Hawks in Upington on Friday following allegations of fraud, forgery and uttering.
Marius and Gerda Louw were each granted bail of R5,000 while Beukes and Isaaks were released on bail of R1,000 each in the Upington District Court on June 17.
Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Tebogo Thebe said that between 2017 and 2018 the four accused allegedly purchased vehicles at a motor dealership in Upington through the submission of fraudulent documents.
“As a result, the suspects intentionally and unlawfully made a misrepresentation to WesBank to grant them vehicle finance exceeding R1 million,” said Thebe.
It is believed that a Golf VII valued at R975,207.90 (including finance charges) and a Ford Ranger with a total value of R709,130.85 (including finance charges) were purchased between 2017 and 2018.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said Marius and Gerda Louw were facing two counts of fraud.
The case was postponed until July 11, when the matter will be transferred to the commercial crimes court.
EFF ZF Mgcawu regional chairperson Dirk Esau welcomed the arrests and urged the NPA to expedite the finalisation of the case.
“This is a high-profile case involving an official that is occupying a position of power,” said Esau.
“It goes without saying that we are leaderless and to a great extent radarless. The so-called leaders of this region are running overseas and invite investments which have a minimal impact on the social ills that we are currently facing, as well as youth unemployment, lack of service delivery and skills development that is at an all-time low. Close to R1 trillion has been invested on projects to date in this Province, yet it has made no improvement on the lives of the people in the ZF Mgcawu region.
“We will watch the processes very closely to ensure that those who steal money from the poor are brought to book.”
