By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
12 November 2024- In a letter, the Moses Kotane Local Municipality speaker, Gugulethu Mtshali, has accused the ANC leadership in North West of ignoring her plea to address challenges she experienced, while presiding over municipal council. According to Mtshali, there are individuals at the municipality, who are committing crime with impunity and they are not held accountable.
“I therefore wish that the leadership of the ANC will act fairly and without prejudice to me and hold the ANC caucus of Moses Kotane Local Municipality collectively and individually accountable.
“I draw the attention of the leadership to reports I have submitted through ANC provincial secretary, Louis Diremelo, who have neither acknowledged nor responded to all of my correspondences to him,” she said.
Mtshali, who will resign as the municipal speaker on 31 December 2024, said it was never easy to preside over a council of consistent motions of no confidence with no support from the ANC caucus and leadership. She further said there was even an attempt to plant an illegal firearm in her vehicle.
“This attempt was in 2022, where police came and alleged to have received a tipoff. They searched my vehicle and fortunately, there were people in the vehicle throughout the day and that’s how the plot was foiled. I have observed a normality of lack of accountability and a tradition of using patronage to silence communities and councillors, who dare raise questions over any wrongdoings.
“It is concerning to raise serious challenges regarding the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, who is out on bail of R50 000 for contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act, facing charges of corruption on the VBS charges at his previous employment only for that to be disregarded,” said Mtshali.
She added this includes the consistent appointment of contractors, who never finish their projects and as a result, service delivery is compromised. Mtshali alleged that municipal officials have maliciously outside a council resolution, increased their salary packages contrary to their contracts of employment, and she has been purged for raising such.
“I wish to put it on record that I did not raise these matters for the first time in this letter. I have used each and every platform available to echo my convictions in relation to the state of Moses Kotane Local Municipality.
“However, anyone who seems to be vocal and challenges the status quo, is often offered as a sacrifice to protect impunity, lawlessness and maladministration. So, as a member who fully understands organisational processes, I am fully alive to the understanding that it is the ANC Provincial Executive Committee empowered to deploy and redeploy its members, which is disregarded in my case,” she said.
The Guardian 