By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
27 August 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mahikeng said it will write to the executive mayor of Mahikeng Local Municipality, Tshepiso Mphehlo, to demand clarity on the irregular appointment of four senior managers and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The DA said Mphehlo must explain to council how these appointments came about, why there has been a delay in addressing the matter, and what corrective action will follow.
The DA councillor in Mahikeng Local Municipality, Arista Annandale said this follows after a letter from the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi that was written to the municipality on 25 February 2025. Annandale said the letter outlined the irregularities concerning the appointment of the CFO and senior managers for Public Safety, Corporate Services, Socio-Economic Development and Community Services.
“The appointments, made on 30 January 2025, were not properly disclosed to the council. It has now emerged that the interview and screening process contravened the Municipal Systems Act.
“The DA objected to the appointment of Mahole as the Senior Manager for Corporate Services due to allegations of nepotism and fraud which is under investigation by the Hawks, but was led to believe that the other appointments were above board,” she said.
Annandale further said the fact that these managers were appointed irregularly is not surprising, as it is not the first time that appointments are made in this fashion. She added that they previously objected to several acting senior managers, who were appointed for longer than a three-month period without concurrence from Molapisi, as prescribed by the Municipal Systems Act.
“Our requests for any correspondence between the MEC and the municipality regarding the extension of their terms were contemptuously ignored and subsequently no proof that the MEC was aware of their perceived misconduct was ever presented to Council.
“As the municipality seemingly made no attempt towards corrective measures, we implore Molapisi to take further action to ensure that accountability is enforced. The DA will monitor all further developments,” said Annandale.
Meanwhile, the Mahikeng Local Municipality spokesperson, John Nkoane ignored the Guardian Newspaper media inquiry sent to him three days ago.
The Guardian 