Johannesburg -
A new ANC mayoral candidate for the troubled Tlokwe local municipality has not yet been decided on, the ANC in the North West said on Tuesday.
“We have not finalised that process,” said spokesman Ishmael Mnisi.
“We will do so before the by-elections in December.”
Former Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle, who was twice unseated as mayor since November last year, was taking up a post in the North West legislature as executive manager of corporate services.
Mnisi denied that Maphetle had been “redeployed”.
“He has not been redeployed... He applied for the job and he was accepted.”
Mnisi said in a statement that Maphetle had the necessary experience and qualifications for the job, including a Masters degree in human resource management.
“His experience as the Tlokwe municipality chief whip (2000-2006) and eventually the mayor (2006-2013) places him among the best... in our province to fulfil the requirements of this position.”
The African National Congress had full confidence in Maphetle's skills, capacity, and understanding of the legislative arm of the state.
“What makes us more confident about his appointment is that he followed all due human resource management processes of the legislature in applying for this position and he emerged as a preferred candidate from the interviewing panel.”
In July, the ANC expelled 14 councillors in Tlokwe after its provincial disciplinary committee found them guilty of misconduct for participating in a motion of no confidence against Maphetle.
The ANC's national disciplinary committee subsequently overturned the expulsions.
The Democratic Alliance's Annette Combrink was elected mayor after Maphetle's ousting.
In October, Mnisi said Maphetle had himself asked the ANC leadership not to retain him as its mayoral candidate.
“In the aftermath of these issues we were confronted with in Tlokwe, comrade Maphetle met the leadership of the ANC at Luthuli House... where they had a conversation about the Tlokwe situation,” he said at the time.
“Comrade Maphetle indicated that as a disciplined member of the ANC, he would not want a situation where issues surrounding him affected the party.”
While the DA was in charge of the municipality for the first time last year, it requested a forensic investigation into irregularities at the municipality.
The probe found that the council had irregularly bought Maphetle a R736 000 customised Mercedes-Benz. Maphetle allegedly abused the Disaster Management Fund and Poverty Relief Fund.
The report recommended that formal disciplinary action be taken against him and other officials.
In May, the DA laid criminal charges against Maphetle, and in June, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said she would investigate the claims of corruption levelled at Maphetle. - Sapa