Axe ANC councillors, say protesters

659 Community members from townships that fall under the Merafong Municipality marched to their local offices in Carltonville to hand in the Memorundum of demands. 291014 Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

659 Community members from townships that fall under the Merafong Municipality marched to their local offices in Carltonville to hand in the Memorundum of demands. 291014 Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

Published Oct 30, 2014

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Johannesburg - Disgruntled ANC supporters on the West Rand have vowed to vote against their party in the 2016 local government elections – citing rampant corruption within the Merafong City Local Municipality.

The threats were made to a senior official of the national Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mpho Mogale, and his Gauteng counterpart Simphiwe Brukhwe in Carletonville.

Mogale and Brukhwe were representing Minister Pravin Gordhan and MEC Jacob Mamabolo when they accepted a memorandum of grievances from residents on Wednesday.

The almost 200 protesters, most of whom wore ANC T-shirts, as well as some EFF members, marched to the municipal offices to demand the immediate resignation of all their municipal councillors, led by mayor and West Rand ANC deputy secretary Maphefo Mogale-Letsie.

Senior municipal officials, including the acting municipal manager, George Seitisho, were accused of maladministration, fraud and corruption.

The memorandum stated: “As members of the community, we have lost confidence in the entire leadership of the Merafong City Local Municipality.

“Councillors and ward committees have ceased to work in communities; the municipality no longer consults on integrated development plans and budget processes.

“It is our firm view that the leadership of the municipality is corrupt and incapable of addressing community needs. We call on the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs to dissolve the council and call for by-elections to refresh the mandate of the council.”

The protesters, led by Themba Wisani – chairman of the Merafong Progressive Partners Forum – painted a picture of a municipality crumbling and on the verge of collapse.

Wisani also claimed that local residents were ignored for job opportunities in the council while preference was given to people from Joburg and Limpopo.

They also claimed that some senior executive directors and managers in the council were not suitably qualified to do their jobs.

“Supply chain management has literally collapsed in the municipality, whereby the Municipal Finance Management Act is not observed, and deviations from the act have also been reported by the Auditor-General in the financial year 2013/2014.

“We demand that all procurement deviations be investigated,” Wisani said.

They demanded too that all tenders that were allegedly awarded to “family members of councillors and other officials of the municipality be investigated”.

“The current recruitment process of the municipality is based on nepotism and is biased towards members of the ruling party.

“We demand that all recruitment for municipal, community work programme, the extended public works programme and others be opened to all community members without regard to political affiliation,” the memorandum stated.

Municipal spokesman Chris Spies said he couldn’t comment on the allegations because he had not seen the memorandum.

Mzi Khumalo, the ANC’s deputy chairman and spokesman on the West Rand, was reportedly in a municipal council meeting in Randfontein when contacted for comment.

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The Star

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