ANC wants Matlosana mayor out and CFO suspended

THE ANC in the North West has decided that the embattled mayor of Matlosana, James Ntsolela, should resign and the chief financial officer, Mercy Phetla, be suspended pending the outcome of the corruption investigation against her.

In a letter dated April 10 and directed to the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the ANC in the North West said the provincial leadership had been inundated with several issues from municipalities that warranted immediate and decisive leadership.

“As part of establishing facts, the provincial leadership has convened the ANC caucus and the troika of (Matlosana) municipality to establish facts.

“The mayor of the municipality appears to be highly compromised by these allegations… The leadership of the province has decided that the mayor, Cde James Ntsolela, must resign with immediate effect. This is to ensure that the name and integrity of the ANC are not put into disrepute.

“The leadership directed that the CFO of that municipality must also be put on suspension pending investigation laid against her of malfeasance.”

The leadership has also implemented a decision of the ANC national executive committee of the Kgalema Motlanthe report regarding the Ward 1 councillor of that municipality.

“The decision was that the councillor had been an illegitimate candidate that was registered against the preferred candidate of the community in that ward. A political assessment was conducted by the provincial leadership in that ward. Our findings were that the community still insists on its initially preferred candidate. Our resolve was that the ANC could be hurt in that ward in terms of electoral support for the upcoming general elections.

“The incumbent councillor and the branch executive committee have been convened to communicate the decision of the organisation that she must tender her resignation before 12 April 2024. Her resignation will be effective after May 2024.”

The Matlosana mayor is accused of soliciting funds from service providers, which were then deposited into his personal bank account but never disclosed to the ANC, where he claimed to be the fund-raiser of the party in the Matlosana Municipality.

One of the funders, Patrick Mokasule, whose company GMHM Construction and Projects was awarded a tender, disclosed to the Sunday Independent that he had given Ntsolela money under the impression that the money was going to ANC activities.

Phetla, Ntsolela’s former ally and CFO of the municipality, landed in hot water after she was arrested on charges of corruption following a police report that she allegedly received a bribe in the form of a vehicle worth R1.4million from the GMHM company.

By the time of publication, the council in Matlosana had not indicated when the mayor and his CFO would be removed.