Potch putsch mayor probed
TLOKWE mayor Maphetle Maphetle is to be investigated for corruption following President Jacob Zuma’s intervention in the Potchefstroom putsch.
Maphetle was ousted when 14 ANC councillors, since expelled from the party, turned against him. This allowed the DA to win control of the council for a second time.
The 14 met Zuma on Thursday and appear to have persuaded him to act in what had become a crisis for the ANC. They said Zuma was shocked by the allegations against Maphetle.
On Friday, the ANC told the speaker of the municipality, Barei Segotso, and MEC for cooperative governance, Manketsi Tlhape, to start an investigation of Maphetle. ANC councillor Dakota Legoete said Maphetle could be asked to step aside during the probe and an acting mayor appointed.
“This investigation is aimed at getting to the bottom of the problem,” he said.
Last week, the 14 ANC councillors contributed to Maphetle’s removal as a protest against the party’s reluctance to deal with corruption allegations against him. They joined the opposition DA to elect its councillor, Annette Combrink, as mayor for a second time.
The 14 were later expelled from the ANC, which has started court action to have Combrink’s election declared invalid.
Maphetle is accused of using R300 000 from the municipality’s poverty relief fund for a jazz festival. He is also linked to a R3.2-million deal relating to shares in the Mooiriver Mall. His critics also claim that the council irregularly bought a R736 000 customised Mercedes-Benz for him.