Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbite in English by Freddy Sonakile
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Saliva Molapisi, to immediately commission a comprehensive forensic investigation into the burning of the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality offices in Christiana last night.
This is not the first time that public infrastructure has gone up in flames in Lekwa-Teemane. Over the years, the municipality has seen fires consume critical facilities including the town hall, a clinic, and a hospital. The pattern is deeply troubling and demands urgent scrutiny.
This latest fire comes just days after the municipality appeared before the North West Provincial Legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), where members expressed outrage at the municipality’s disclaimed audit opinion and the lack of proper supporting documentation. The timing of this fire raises serious concerns and cannot be ignored.
Facts must be confronted. The Committee itself was unequivocal: destroying or failing to safeguard public records is a criminal offence under the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act.
The forensic investigation must establish the whereabouts and responsibilities of municipal security personnel at the time of the fire; whether the municipal offices and their contents were insured; and whether this incident may be linked to a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence relevant to financial mismanagement or maladministration.
In addition, we call on law enforcement authorities to urgently open and pursue a criminal case of arson and for both investigations to be concluded without delay, with findings made fully public.
The DA is determined to uncover the truth. The people of Lekwa-Teemane deserve transparency, accountability, and justice, not ashes where governance should stand.