The Democratic Alliance (DA) will report our strong opposition on the secondment of convicted fraudster, Busisiwe Mgaguli, to the position of acting Municipal Manager of Sol Plaatje, to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, for investigation.
This comes after the Speaker, Dipuo Peters, claimed that our request for a Special Council Meeting to deliberate on this matter was technically incorrect. We strongly dispute this and believe that her denial of our request is an attempt by the ANC council members to avoid accountability and buy more time to facilitate their own political agenda.
The fact that Peters refuses to allow engagement on Mgaguli’s involvement in financial crimes, raises many questions. As does her failure to consider that the suspension of suspended Municipal Manager, Thapelo Matlala, comes to an end today. His suspension can also only be extended by holding a Special Council meeting before the day is over. Failure to do so will permit him to return to office tomorrow, despite investigations into the allegations against him likely not completed yet.
Given the grave nature of the ongoing saga regarding the municipal manager position, the serious repercussions for service delivery and the financial and legal implications for the municipality, this is a slap in the face of Kimberley residents.
DA provincial spokesperson on COGHSTA, Gizella Opperman, will submit our concerns to Hlabisa directly, given that MEC of COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, is responsible for the secondment. We want Hlabisa to consider the processes and the grounds for both Mgaguli’s secondment and Matlala’s suspension. The matter will also be raised in upcoming legislature portfolio committee meetings.
Sol Plaatje municipality is not an ANC fiefdom. There are rules and regulations and a multi-party council to whom this institution must account. Above all, there are also the citizens of Kimberley to whom Sol Plaatje has a constitutional mandate to deliver clean governance and service delivery.