The speaker of the Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM), Lebogang Pule, is allegedly sitting on a request made to her by the executive mayor, Sheila Mabale-Huma, to call for a special council meeting to discuss serious allegations levelled against its municipal manager.
Mabale-Huma wrote to Pule on October 17, asking her to call for a council meeting to consider the serious allegations made against municipal manager Ashmar Khuduge.
Khuduge is alleged to have failed to take action against a junior official — said to be close to him — who entered into an agreement with a developer, outside his delegated mandate.
“The request is to enable the executive mayor to table an urgent report in committee for consideration by council…. It is of paramount importance that I present this item for council to consider and resolve as it relates to the accounting officer of the municipality, and it has potential to bring municipality into disrepute if council does not sit and resolve on it,” reads Mabale-Huma’s letter.
Business Day has it on good authority that Pule has yet to respond to the request, with sources in the municipality alleging she is shielding Khuduge from responsibility and buying him time.
Pule said she was still considering Mabale-Huma’s request.
“The matter is being handled in accordance with the procedural guidelines of thecouncil. The specifics of the response are internal to the council’s processes and will be addressed during the appropriate council deliberations,” she said.
Earlier in October, City Press alleged that illegal connections to council services had cost the municipality millions of rand in lost revenue.
The municipality’s officials also allowed the private developer to illegally connect water, sewer, electricity and road infrastructure in a new R2bn development project without the necessary approvals.
The two service level agreements (SLAs) were signed off by Thato Molwantwa, who holds the role of unit manager for planning and human settlements. Molwantwa acted without delegated authority, and without the unit managers responsible for water and electricity.
In his explanation to Khuduge, dated October 4, Molwantwa admitted he signed the SLAs, saying this was in the best interest of the municipality.
“Earlier this year between January and February, I had a meeting with the developer where he indicated that he is about to lose the project and the funding thereof. With the intention to save the said development and economic growth within our city we then agreed to enter into a draft service level agreement and an application of section 76 to assist the processes,” Molwantwa’s letter reads.
“This process means that the developer may secure the project and continue to build while waiting for the municipality to finalise its processes.”
Molwantwa’s actions saw the developer build sewer, water, electricity and the road infrastructure in the new development without the council’s authorisation and approval.
The auditor-general in August flagged that the municipality lost about R800m to illegal water, electricity and sewer connections.
Despite Molwantwa’s admission that he signed the agreements, Khuduge has not taken action against him. Instead, he appointed a law firm to conduct a forensic investigation of the deal.
This too has rubbed officials in the municipality the wrong way, as it is in the purview of council to appoint such an investigation, with sources saying Khuduge’s actions essentially mean he has launched an investigation into himself.
Khuduge, whose appointment to the role earlier in 2024 is being challenged in court, did not respond to direct questions sent to him.
Pule defended Khuduge’s appointment of a law firm to investigate the allegations, outside council approval.
“The appointment of the law firm was undertaken as part of the administrative prerogative of the municipal manager, in alignment with ensuring due diligence and transparency in the handling of the SLAs,” Pule said.
“The municipal manager’s actions were aimed at safeguarding the interests of the municipality, and any such actions are subject to the provisions outlined in the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). The outcomes of the investigation will be presented to the council for appropriate consideration.
“Once the forensic investigation is complete and the necessary information is available, the matter will be presented before the council. The municipality is committed to handling all matters with transparency and ensuring that due process is followed before they are tabled for council discussion,” Pule said.
Mabale-Huma did not respond to questions.
Correction: October 24 2024
The previous version of this article referred to the speaker as male. Business Day regrets the error
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