By NewsSA Reporter:
Police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters, including ANC councillors, who gathered in Brits, North West, on Tuesday afternoon, demanding service delivery and the resignation of Madibeng Local Municipality executive mayor Douglas Maimane. Police officials were not immediately available to confirm whether anyone was injured or arrested.
Clad in ANC colours, the protesters spent the day singing, chanting and toyi‑toying outside the municipal offices. Councillors joined residents to denounce alleged corruption, nepotism and irregular appointments under Maimane’s administration.
They demanded both Maimane’s resignation and the removal of municipal manager Quiet Kgatla, whom they accused of being unlawfully appointed and shielded by the mayor. Protesters further alleged that Maimane and his allies
blocked the tabling of a forensic report into corruption and nepotism, postponing council meetings at the last minute to avoid scrutiny.
Ward councillors, including Sefike Keaobaka (Ward 3), Lucas Motaung (Ward 15), Bheki Mphahlele (Ward 40), Papi Ratele (Ward 4) and ANC chief whip Peter Padi (Ward 8), addressed the crowd.
Keaobaka said: “Our job as councillors is to do oversight and fight corruption, but we have become the enemy of this institution. It is controlled by tsotsis. As ANC deployees, voted by the people, we cannot allow this to continue.”
Maloyi clarifies ANC’s oversight role in Madibeng
In response to the protest, ANC provincial chairperson, Nono Maloyi, wrote a letter to us seeking to clarify matters around Madibeng and the ANC oversight role.
Maloyi said Madibeng Municipality falls under the Bojanala Region, which is one of the regions of the ANC in the North West Province. The ANC Bojanala Regional Executive Committee is constitutionally empowered to supervise and guide the work of ANC caucuses within municipalities that fall under its jurisdiction, including Madibeng.
“In line with this constitutional mandate, the Bojanala REC has been engaging with the relevant structures to address the current impasse in Madibeng. We have interacted with the Acting Regional Secretary, who has assured us that a comprehensive report on the matter will be submitted to the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in due course.
“The region must therefore be afforded the necessary time and space to conclude its internal processes and make appropriate recommendations to the Province Executive Committee once its work is complete,” Maloyi said.
A caution to ANC councillors
“We further wish to remind all ANC councillors that they are expected to uphold the highest standards of discipline as enshrined in the ANC Constitution. No councillor is permitted to act in a manner that contravenes the laws of the Republic or undermines the authority and unity of the organization. Any conduct that has the potential to derail service delivery or bring the ANC into disrepute will not be tolerated”
“The ANC remains committed to ensuring stable governance and effective service delivery to the people of Madibeng and the broader Bojanala Region,” Maloyi said. – @NewsSA_Online
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