BLOEMFONTEIN mayor Gregory Nthatisi is in hot water following The Star’s 10 questions sent to him on a raft of corruption allegations levelled against him.
A source inside the metro has levelled serious accusations labelling Nthatisi as corrupt and the main reason behind the collapse of the once glorious city.
These accusations come as the Mangaung Metro has been mired in service delivery challenges and other issues in recent years.
Early this year, ANC Umkhonto we Sizwe veteran Nthatisi was elected as acting mayor of Mangaung after a court set aside Papi Mokoena’s election.
However, since his election, there has been a series of accusations against him with concerned community members alleging that corruption in Mangaung has only worsened since Nthatisi’s rise to the mayorship position.
A source close to the situation indicated that the mayor was sequestrated and also had “corrupt business ties to a businessman known as Meshak Phakoe of Phetogo Consulting with close ties to another controversial figure in the metro, Thato Nthunya”.
However, Nthatisi has denied these allegations levelled against him following a media inquiry sent by The Star.
“1. Is it true that at some point you were sequestrated?
2. Can you explain your business relationship with Mr Meshak Phakoe who owns Phetogo consulting company which is linked to director at Department of Education Mr Thato Nthunya?
3. How did you get the police to renew your firearm licence which expired a year ago?
4. Can you prove that you are the owner of a piece of land near an industrial area in Botshabelo which you recently availed for illegal occupation?
5. Will you later benefit by selling that land to the municipality?
6. Do you own a company with Mr Freddy Kenny and for how long has the company been operating?”
Question four related to a huge piece of land near an industrial area in Botshabelo near Bloemfontein.
The Star was also reliably informed that processes were flouted to give the R80 million land to Nthatisi under the guise that it belonged to his wife. According to sources, Nthatisi would later sell back the land to the municipality at an exorbitant price.
Nthatisi was chased away by angry community members in Wepener during an ANC by-election campaign in June over service delivery issues.
Last week, angry members of the Mangaung Concerned Community group vowed to shut down Bloemfontein city centre if the municipality and Free State government continues to ignore their demands for jobs and better services.
On Wednesday, about 100 residents from communities across Bloemfontein marched to the municipality’s offices at Braam Fischer building before proceeding to the premier’s office and handed over their memorandum of demands to the mayor and his team.
Responding to The Star’s questions, Ntathisi said: “I was never sequestrated 2. I have no business relationship with Zuki Phakoe. As my captain, we are involved as golfers in the transformation of Bloemfontein golf. 3. I have never renewed any license 4. My wife’s company only has a land availability agreement with the municipality. 5. The last I checked, she had lost interest on the land due to lack of investment support by previous municipal administrations. 6. I do not own any company with Mr Freddy Kenny.
“In South Africa, a Land Availability Agreement means an agreement that has been concluded between the municipality and a developer, in terms whereof the developer is allowed to develop the municipal land on behalf of the municipality, whilst the ownership of the land remains with the municipality,“ he said.
Nthatisi’s admission puts him (and his wife) at the centre stage of the land scandal because law would prevent a mayor or municipality from appointing the mayor's wife as a developer for a municipal project.
This is a developing story.
The Star