Disgruntled residents of Moutse in Limpopo were marching to the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality on Thursday morning in protest against cross-border municipalities.
”We will organise marches and disrupt the Confederations Cup if nothing is done,” Moutse Demarcation Forum organiser Seun Mogotji said.
Their demands included the immediate suspension of the municipal manager, mayor and local councillors they accused of mismanaging municipal funds.
”While we are waiting for a decision on the demarcation issue, the municipality is chowing [wasting] our money. A lot of money has disappeared.
”We call for the immediate recalling of all councillors [Caroline Mathebe, Granny Mathebe, Suzan Mamaila, Thembi Mabuza and Mr Mokgabudi] who have vested interest in the public funds for selfish agendas. Most of these councillors are themselves service providers in local projects in our municipality … with extremely poor quality of work.”
Mogotji, who is also South African Communist Party district secretary, said the council had failed to account for more than R500 000 that had gone missing.
”We want an enquiry into the findings of the Auditor-General whose report on financial statements and performance information shows clear financial unaccountability.”
In a memorandum addressed to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka, residents called for an investigation into the awarding of tenders to ”close associates of the mayor and municipal manager”, as well as tenders awarded to senior municipal employees.
”We call for investigations into any other suspicious conducts of public administrators who misuse public funds and fail to deliver to the deserving communities,” Mogotji said.
If their demands were not addressed by June 11, residents would picket outside Shiceka’s office in Pretoria on June 16.
”We won’t celebrate June 16. We will celebrate at the minister’s office.”
If all this failed, Mogotji said residents would disrupt Fifa Confederations Cup matches in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg from June 14.
Moutse straddles both Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and the government wants the entire area to fall under Limpopo, which the demarcation forum was opposing. It believed residents would get better services if they remained in Mpumalanga.
”We further put it to the minister that all the frustrations and intended actions by the masses could be averted and avoided [by] returning the entire municipality back to its rightful province, Mpumalanga. Limpopo is not an alternative nor an option,” said Mogotji.
The municipal spokesperson and Shiceka’s spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. — Sapa