Mayor Daniel Buthelezi was removed last week during a special council sitting in a motion of no-confidence vote with the majority of councillors allegedly voting for his removal. 

His second removal follows his reinstatement earlier this month by a council after the North West High Court made a ruling that the council must reinstate him. The municipal spokesperson, Pius Batsile, says his removal is based on what council called a lacklustre performance and total failure to bring reports to the council about the appointment of a new financial management system, amongst others. 

Batsile says the council then moved to elect Tsholofelo Moreo as the new mayor, replacing the ousted Buthelezi.

Batsile says the council is convinced that the process of not billing consumers has adversely affected the cash flow of the municipality and impacted on the funding of key service delivery programmes. “Therefore, the Council had agreed in unison that the entire Executive Committee be ousted as it has failed dismally to play their oversight responsibilities pursuant to the legislation,” he adds.

Buthelezi is one of the Troika members, which includes council speakers and chief whips in the province, who were instructed by the ANC’s Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) to step down.

In September 2020, the ANC IPC's Kenny Morolong told OFM News that the ANC decided to recall these members after it had identified the collapse of service delivery, infighting, and municipal leaders relegating their authority to alleged gangsters who he alleges are now in control of these municipalities.

Morolong earlier added that the ANC IPC was shocked by the developments at the municipality, which include Lichtenburg.

Morolong said the squabbles and the infighting of councillors in that municipality is part of the problems that were identified by the IPC earlier.

OFM News