Mnquma Local Municipality has poured cold water on a widely-circulated petition from a group calling themselves the Mnquma Community Members, which has levelled serious allegations ranging from mismanagement to nepotism within the local municipality.
A member of the structure, who did not want his identity revealed for fear of reprisal, confirmed the authenticity of the petition.
He further said that they have submitted the petition with over 80-pages of documentary evidence of their allegations to the Eastern Cape Office of the Premier, as well as to the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
Eastern Cape COGTA MEC Zolile Williams’s spokesperson, Pheello Oliphant, confirmed that the petition reached the department’s offices on May 12, adding that the relevant person was still studying it and will respond in due course.
The petition alleges that current municipal manager, Silumko Mahlasela, misled council when he was initially employed in 2018, with allegations that he had a pending case of fraud and the municipality failed to vet him prior to appointment.
The structure also alleges that one of the senior managers within the municipality was appointed without a matric certificate, while another allegedly secured employment for his girlfriend.
The petition also mentions service providers who allegedly belong to relatives of Mahlasela and further calls for investigation on them.
“In the meeting held in Butterworth on May 9, 2023, the community members resolved that there must be a total shutdown in all Mnquma Local Municipality Offices, and that the executive mayor, council speaker, the chief whip, the municipal manager and all his directors step down from their positions with immediate effect – and that all Mnquma Local Municipality employees, security and traffic and law enforcement personnel vacate their offices with immediate effect, pending the response of the submitted petition within seven days of receipt,” reads part of the petition.
The municipality, however, has dismissed the allegations contained in the petition as baseless and unfounded.
“Ordinarily the municipal management would not dignify any correspondence from faceless individuals. However, it is prudent that we set the record straight due to the seriousness of the allegations contained in the alleged petition.”
“At best, these allegations can be described as malicious, baseless, and unfounded. The person cited in the petition has distanced herself from the correspondence, saying that she was not part of any meeting where such issues were discussed.
“There is neither an agenda nor minutes of the meeting referred to in the petition,” said Mnquma Local Municipality executive mayor, Tunyiswa Manxila-Nkamisa.
The municipality further released a detailed statement refuting each allegation made in the petition.
