By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

27 June 2025- The North West Provincial Legislature Standing Committee on Provincial Public Accounts chaired by Smuts Matshe has resolved to direct the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Gaoage Molapisi to urgently restore the rule of law at Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality, where there has not been a permanent mayor since December 2024.

This follows the Scopa Public Hearings on the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) where the municipality was expected to account for the R1.1 billion irregular expenditure for the 2023/24 financial year. The meeting had to be abandoned as the municipality has not had a mayor for more than six months and all Members of Exco were not in attendance.

Matshe said it is absurd that the provincial government placed the municipality under Section 139 (1{a}) and yet COGTA as the lead department has tolerated Kagisano-Molopo to operate in an illegal manner by not having a mayor or acting mayor for such a long period.

“This represents a total disregard of the law, total collapse of the accountability system and the creation of conditions conducive for corruption, fraud, maladministration and all forms of malfeasances. COGTA has to urgently attend to this matter without any further delays.

“We will not process an audit report of a municipality that is operating in an unlawful manner – no municipality should be allowed to operate without a mayor or any of the key office bearers,” he said.

Mathe further said Kagisano-Molopo appears to be in crisis as almost all of its senior managers are in an acting capacity, including the Municipal Manager. He added that, absence of a mayor or acting mayor means senior officials are not supervised and in the process they might be making decisions that are not guided.

The municipal speaker, Pretty Moirwagale confirmed before the Public Accounts Committee that the municipality has been operating without a mayor since December 2024.

“Our then mayor, Tshireletso Marabutse was on leave from December 2024 until March 2025 and an acting mayor was elected during that period. At the beginning of 2025, the council resolved to end the acting arrangements once the resignation of the substantive mayor was confirmed leading to us operating without a mayor.

“The municipal council needs to pass items that have to be presented by the mayor at the council sitting, an acting mayor is elected during council sitting and the acting is only for the duration of the council meeting,” he said.

Matshe said Moirwagale should within 48 hours compile a report regarding their failure to elect a mayor or acting mayor and formally bring this to the attention of the MEC for COGTA.

“We cannot continue to tolerate a situation where the people of Kagisano-Molopo are being undermined and allow gross disregard for the rule of law- a true democracy has to have consequences for those failing the people,” he said.

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