Mkhondo – The ANC in the Mkhondo (Piet Retief) local municipality, in the south of Mpumalanga province, continues to make sweeping management changes after winning back the troubled municipality.
The municipality has since ousted the former acting municipal manager, Bheki Maseko, and replaced him with Mandla Dlamini who yesterday (Wednesday) was introduced to staff members.
Maseko’s ousting comes a week after the ANC removed the former mayor, Mthokozisi Simelane, through a vote of no-confidence and replaced him with one of their own, Ngelosi Ndlovu.
Dlamini started working on Tuesday and the municipality said it hired him as per a directive of the Mpumalanga Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
NEWS: Asserting its dominance after clawing back the Mkhondo local municipality in Mpumalanga province, the ANC has ousted municipal manager, Bheki Maseko and replaced him with Mandla Dlamini. Maseko was considered to be an ally of the former mayor, Mthokozisi Simelane. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) February 1, 2023
“Mkhondo Local Municipalilty's Council today welcomed the newly-appointed acting municipal manager Mr Mandla Dlamini.
“Mr Dlamini was appointed upon the council request on 25 January, 2023, to the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department to approve the appointment of the acting municipal manager,” the municipality said in a brief statement late on Tuesday.
The ousted Maseko and Simelane were considered to be buddies who once locked horns, but later reconciled.
Based on a batch of internally leaked documents, in July last year, IOL reported that Maseko was once charged by the same struggling local council.
He was charged in February last year after allegedly being found to have made payments to contractors who had rendered shoddy work to the municipality.
The bid to charge him for that while he was the chief financial officer (CFO) was led by Simelane, who accused him of abusing municipal funds – a charge Maseko vehemently denied.
According to a batch of letters, memos and exchanges between Simelane, Maseko and other council members, the mayor wanted to know the true state of the municipality.
In that regard, he wrote to Maseko asking him to compile a full list of who is being paid and why Eskom, which is now owed over R300 million by the municipality, wasn’t paid, as most local consumers had prepaid meters, meaning they pay in advance for their power.
The exchanges showed Maseko ignored that request from Simelane.
Angered by that, Simelane wanted to institute a disciplinary hearing against Maseko and notified him in writing.
When that happened, Maseko wrote a letter on February 11, 2022, saying he was resigning because of “instability” in the municipality. In that letter, he said he was willing to leave with immediate effect provided the municipality pays him two months' salary.
After days of silence, Simelane wrote back to Maseko and gave the nod for him to leave and had his two-month's salary request acceded to.
Then two months after leaving the municipality, Maseko returned to act as the municipal manager of the same municipality.
Maseko confirmed back then that he resigned and cited a toxic environment.
He said he came back when councillors asked him to do so and after he made suggestions on how the toxic environment could be improved and the workplace made suitable for all to deliver accordingly.
Maseko didn’t comment when asked again yesterday whether he had been moved within the municipality or whether he had been completely kicked out.
Also not responding to the same question was Robert Kubheka, the new spokesperson of the municipality.
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