The City of Nanaimo has parted ways with chief financial officer Victor Mema, who once had the same role with the District of Sechelt.
“Mr. Mema is no longer employed as the chief financial officer for the City of Nanaimo,” a brief statement issued Monday read. “We wish him well in future endeavours. The city will not be making any further statements on this matter.”
Mema, who joined Nanaimo’s staff after leaving the District of Sechelt in 2015, was at the centre of a controversy over personal use of the city’s credit card.
His departure from Nanaimo came following an audit report from KPMG, that was critical of the city’s internal control measures and suggested there was a “poor tone at the top.”
The KPMG audit also found that other employees at the city raised concerns about "appropriate usage of city funds and the ability to collect funds owed to the city,” but those concerns were not always dealt with properly.
Mema was with the District of Sechelt between April 2013 and August 2015, and a lawsuit filed by Sechelt in 2017 alleges a similar pattern of unauthorized use of the municipality’s credit card.
In its statement of claim, the district said the unapproved charges incurred by Mema amounted to just over $36,000, of which he paid back $4,381.19.
Mema has yet to file a statement of defence in the lawsuit, and the issue remains before the courts.
