Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Setswana by Cllr Mduduzi Maphanga.
The DA in Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality objected to the illegal extension of the Municipal Manager, Joseph Mogale’s, contract three months during a Council meeting earlier this week.
The extension of the contract is deemed unlawful in accordance with the memo from North West COGTAHS MEC, Lenah Miga, which forbade any further contract extensions 12 months after the inauguration of new councils following last year’s elections.
Mayor Thabo Jacobs‘s motivation for the illegal extension is outrageous. He indicated that the Municipal Manager’s contract must be extended to ensure service delivery because the advertisement for the vacancy was not published on time. This is a poor justification, though, given the Mayor was aware of the expiration date of these contracts months in advance.
It is evident that the ANC-led municipality has no intention of upholding the law and only cares about supporting their fellow cadre members at the expense of residents.
MM Joseph Mogale’s performance has been a disaster. During his tenure, Kgetlengrivier lost control of its water plant, suffered poor revenue collection, and saw financial mismanagement continue unabated. He even motivated a settlement pay-out for the previous CFO, Sipho Ngwenya, despite charges of financial misconduct against him.
Service delivery in Kgetlengrivier has been dismal. The town has experienced the continuous flow of raw sewage into surrounding rivers. Water cuts occur regularly and last for extended periods of time.
Municipal heavy and light-duty vehicles were also repossessed by the Sheriff to settle overdue debt repayments. The loss of these vehicles saw service delivery decline further.
Court action is also currently being brought against Mr Mogale by the residents of the Kgetlengrivier area for the Koster River being polluted by raw sewage and failing to maintain water purification plants.
The DA wrote to MEC Miga urging her to intervene immediately to revoke the extension since it is in conflict with the directive issued.
The DA will not stand by and allow this illegal activity to continue, and we will keep fighting to eradicate corruption committed by the ANC so that resources are applied to meet the service delivery needs of residents.