Madibeng Pulse

Dear Mr. Matlawe,
I left a message for you on Friday 16 July and then again on Wednesday 21 July without a response from you. But I am told not to take it personally; it is merely your and your predecessor DH Makobe’s, public relations style.

Since the matter I wanted to discuss with you is of public importance, I am directing this email to you and I will also post it on MadibengPulse in our editorial update on Monday 26 July 2010. We’ll keep it there as a reminder until we can publish a reply.

In our discussion in June, we agreed that rumours are doing the municipality a lot of harm, and such harm is compounded if they are untrue. At the same time rumours detrimental to the operation of the municipality are also, without exception, harmful to the interests of the ratepayers and residents, should they be true.

It is therefore in everybody’s interest that they be confirmed, refuted or acted upon as soon as possible.

Big amount transferred by laptop from Cape Town
R400 000 Avis account: The Chief Financial Officer, Ms. NA (Nana) Masithela, who is said to be the girlfriend of the best friend of the Minister of Cogta, Sicelo Shiceka, has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Madibeng Municipality as part of the government’s turnaround strategy for South African Municipalities.

The Council’s assessment of her led to her dismissal by the Council on 12th March, 2010, just to be reinstated, under “pressure from higher up,” also by Council decision, on 19 March 2010.

It had been reported that Nana Masithela was appointed for six months until May 2010 at a monthly salary of R75 000 a month.

The appointment was controversial, partly due to the lack of communication with the community. At first, she was said to have been appointed by Mr. Phillemon Mapulane, during one of his “on-periods” when he was suspended – off; then succeeded with an appeal to the Labour Court and reinstated – on; then suspended again by different wording – off; and so it went on, off, on, off…

You will understand why the community was highly suspicious of both appointments and suspensions during a time when the town was haemorrhaging money into bankruptcy.

The rumour continues: Ms. NA (Nana) Masithela flew first class to Cape Town to join the parliamentary gallery to listen to the budget speech of the Minister of Cogta, Sicelo Shiecka.

Arriving at Cape Town Airport, she went to Avis Car Hire counter to hire a 4 x 4. On being told that she could not rent a 4 x 4, or any other vehicle, because of a long-overdue account with Avis of R400 000, she opened her laptop, transferred R400 000 to Avis, received the keys for the 4x4 and drove to her five star hotel.

One of the experts seconded to help with the turnaround, also did not give her a good assessment, if that is so, do you have the power to replace her?

This is a rumour at this stage, but it is widely circulated, and it is your duty to answer these.

Would you agree that a management control system allowing one official to transfer municipal funds from a laptop 1 500 kilometres away from the office, provides no control at all?
Do you think any one official should have the authority to transfer such large amounts?
Does the Section 139 municipal management system put every municipal official under the Administrator’s control or do some of the officials report elsewhere?
Does the CFO report to you or does she report higher up in the ANC hierarchy? If you cannot control her, you should say so, so that the people whose money she works with understand the situation.
We are told one of the experts seconded from the DBSA assessed the CFO and found her not to be fit for purpose? Is that true, and if so, is there anything you can do about it?
According to our records, Nana Masithela’s 6-month contract expired at the end of May and she was appointed at a salary of R75 000 a month. Has her contract in fact expired, and if so, has it been renewed?
What according to the regulations governing municipalities, is the salary of a Section 57 manager, which is what Nana Masithela us?
Is it normal for Section 57 managers to go at the ratepayers’ expense to attend budget speeches of ministers?
Did Madibeng in fact foot the bills for this excursion, or was it funded from elsewhere?
What other officials in Madibeng attend the same or similar events?

Last week virtually all of Hartbeespoort was without water at some stages. The reasons we elicited from officials were that they’re working with defective equipment. If there’s money to pay Avis R400 000 wasn’t there money to spend on effective equipment supplying an essential human need – after all it’s the residents’ money and it’s for a service you are constitutionally bound to deliver – adequately. Dry taps or black water in them does not comply with an “adequate” standard.
Do you realise that you, as the responsible officer, appointed on March 15, can now also be charged under the Water Act as the Mayor and the suspended municipal manager had been? The latest charges were laid by the Department of Water Affairs and not a DA councillor, whom the ANC habitually ignore.
Getting back to the Avis account; how does Madibeng accumulate an account for such an amount? Are you aware that, at some stage last year, the municipality spent R45- to R60 000 a month for a vehicle for the Executive Mayor? At that time she had a BMW 747i but because some fool determined that such a vehicle is only serviceable up to 91 000kms, there was “no choice but to replace it.” Rules and procedures, as ever, were alibis for robbing the residents legally.
Are you aware that the NW Premier, Ms. Maureen Modiselle, light years ahead of the Madibeng Mayor in the structures, used the old vehicle she inherited from her predecessor in May last year, and it is only now being replaced after an accident? Don’t you find that commendable, particularly in view of the much larger area of jurisdiction of the premier compared to that of the mayor?

General implications:
You must attend to these rumours very urgently because of several possible consequences for the turnaround strategy in Madibeng.

1. You are assisted by community organisations, among others, in your attempts to achieve the much vaunted turnaround of this municipality, which together with that in the rest of the 282 municipalities, is of national strategic importance. Among those who offered their assistance free of charge - from HIF and the Madibeng Business Forum - are experts, who would command high fees in the normal course of their work. Do you not think that these volunteers would feel they’re wasting their time with Madibeng, and in effect merely helping to fund jaunts such as the above, by their efficiency and cost-saving advice?

2. You may not be aware of it, but there are ANC Councillors who were in despair because of the way the municipality was run by a bunch of …… What kept them going, apart from the need to earn a living, was their faith in the government who they believed would not forever tolerate the perversion of the Spirit of ’94. There are those among them who now say, “Very little has changed; the turnaround is not going to happen because the dedicated ones

are fighting against people with money, and even those who are supposed to achieve the turnaround look after themselves first.”

If you do not understand any other reasoning, you as a political appointee, will understand the following argument.

The ANC supporters will not allow themselves to be led by the nose for as long National Party supporters did pre-94. Then political adherence was demanded as a fight for survival, now it is for better living conditions and the fruits of democracy. It is much easier to measure you own living standards now, than it was then to assess a threat – very often a bogus threat.

In order to cool possible heat under the collar because of the statements made, I repeat that the statements made above have wide circulation across people with different persuasions and it is you job, as soon as possible, to say whether they are true, and if so, if there is anything you as Administrator can do about them.

First prize would be of course to say that none of the above rumours are true, and we’ll happily publish your explanation of what the facts are.
Regards,
Dolf Dreyer,
Editor – MadibengPulse.