Municipality in the Free State
But less than 2km from these shacks, the home of the mayor’s family members sprawls on a plot. Near it sits a community hall that was allegedly used by the mayor’s brother for his wedding four years ago.
The municipal spokesperson, Tshediso Maitse, said: “The executive mayor denies all allegations levelled against her of ‘privatising’ state property, for hers and her family’s benefit.”
He added that there was a house and some other permanent structures on the farm that were built by the previous owners.
“The building that is mistaken for a hall was actually a cattle barn that was modified. Occasionally it is used to hold church services or community meetings [that] are not specific to a political party. The building is not used commercially,” said Maitse.
M&G’S
Vanderbijlpark
Standerton together,and that he didn’t know what Mojita (Mzizi’s company) was.
“We established a co-operative years ago, but the company did not go anywhere. And that was the last we really worked together. But he is a guy around ekasi,” he said.
But numerous people in Bethlehem, one who is a director of the co-operative, said the two are inseparable — doing business and numerous events together. A municipal source alleged that Khambule was using friends’ companies to benefit from the municipal contracts.
Khambule denied ever doing work with the municipality.
Meanwhile, another relative of the mayor was recently appointed as a general worker at the municipality.
The politics and municipal scandals
According to Makhalema, who was briefly suspended by the ANC two years ago for calling President Cyril Ramaphosa a sellout, she has done nothing wrong.
Council members who the M&G spoke to said that if the mayor had nothing to hide she was meant to have declared her family interests to the council.
But this does not seem to have happened.
Gerrie Roetz, a Democratic Alliance (DA) council member, said that last year the party’s council members sent questions regarding the allegations that the mayor’s family was using the Slabbert farm to the speaker, but that those questions were never answered.
In 2018, Makhalema also survived a motion of no confidence from the DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters, which cited financial mismanagement.
Last year, Dihlabeng municipal officials were arrested by the Hawks in connection with investigations into alleged fraud, corruption and the irregular awarding of tenders in the municipality.