By OBAKENG MAJE
8 November 2025- The Umkhonto weSizwe Party in North West calls for a forensic investigation at the embattled Mamusa Local Municipality in Schweizer Reneke. This comes after nepotism, irregular appointments and abuse of power allegations levelled against the Municipal Manager, Rantsho Gincane, Manager in the Office of the Mayor, Tshepo Zhele and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor, Olebeng Mogorosi.
The municipality’s department of Budget and Treasury Office advertised a Municipal Finance Management Internship Programme post looking for two individuals. However, in the turn of the event on 5 September 2025, Zhele allegedly wrote on his Facebook page account calling for residents to check out the advertisement’s closing date and apply before they appoint their own wives and girlfriends.
Now, it is alleged that the wives of Zhele and Mogorosi were appointed in these posts.
MKP provincial chairperson, Alfred Motsi said they are not surprised. Motsi said wherever the ANC is in power, there is nepotism and corruption hence they urge residents to stop voting for it.
“The residents should stop voting for the ANC if they want a better life. I went through Facebook account of Tshepo Zhele, who is the Manager in the Office of the Mayor at the Mamusa Local Municipality, where he requested residents to check out the closing date of the internship programme before they hired their wives and girlfriends and being accused of not advertising jobs at the municipality.
“Now, he captured that correctly because indeed, his wife and the wife of EFF councillor, Olebeng Mogorosi was appointed for this internship programme. So, we are not surprised, but we call for forensic investigations into all appointments in the municipality,” he said.
Motsi further said whoever appointed individuals wrongfully, should be arrested and all the appointments be reversed. He added that they cannot fold their arms while ANC looted the municipalities.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial secretary, Papiki Babuile said every citizen has a right to apply for any advertised post in the country whether related to those in power or not. Babuile said if those wives and girlfriends were appointed properly, then they see no problem with that.
“If the wives of the so-called Manager in the Office of the Mayor and EFF councillor, Olebeng Mogorosi who is not even in government, but just a councillor, was employed and all necessary processes were followed, then there is nothing.
“However, if nepotism was practised, then that must be investigated and such individuals must be withdrawn from employment of the municipality. We must never allow anyone to be employed through a process of favouritism and nepotism. We call on the municipality to probe this matter and if there is evidence that there was nepotism, such appointments should be withdrawn,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Mamusa Local Municipality spokesperson, Jerry Maine said they noted the allegations of nepotism raised by some community members. Maine said these allegations surfaced after the appointment of two local young people whose only ‘crime’ was their marital relations with one manager and one councillor working in the municipality.
“The municipality has no doubt that the process followed in the appointment of the two interns was fair, transparent and in compliance with our recruitment policy and the Constitution of the Republic.
“This internship programme is funded by the National Treasury through their Finance Management Grant (FMG). In terms of the conditions of the grant, our municipality qualifies to recruit five interns and only three vacancies are currently filled. The contract for these three incumbents will end on 31 December 2025,” he said.
Maine said the municipality will start the recruitment before the end of the current month. He said an advertisement was placed in a newspaper on 20 August 2025, calling on every interested and qualifying individual to apply for two vacant positions of interns in the finance department of the municipality.
“Only seven applications were received from interested people. The selection panel was constituted by Managers in the Finance Department, Human Resources Management, workers unions such as SAMWU and IMATU, whose presence was meant to guarantee the fairness of the process.
“This panel did not include, as it is implied in the allegations, any Manager in the Office of the Mayor nor any councillor. This implied allegation is malicious and only seeks to discredit an otherwise fair, lawful and transparent process,” said Maine.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Centre for Good Governance and Social Justice, Boyce Mpempe said they are still investigating the matter and they will comment at the right time.
The Guardian 