At the heart of the dispute is the city’s claim that it has dissolved the board due to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the board and Centlec’s management, a breakdown that, according to city manager Sello More, is beyond repair.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday (4/9), More confirmed the metro council had decided to dissolve the board following internal investigations. He said the council deemed it fit to dissolve the board because the relationship between management and the board had broken down beyond repair.

More did not disclose the full findings of the investigations, only alluding to its significance in prompting the decision.

But Centlec board chairperson Casca Mokitlane denied the claims that the board has been officially dissolved, asserting instead that there was a deliberate attempt to collapse the board.

The board wants to put on record that it has not been dissolved, but it is being collapsed, Mokitlane told OFM News. “Dissolving and collapsing the board are two different things.”

He accused the city’s leadership, particularly Mayor Gregory Nthatisi, of deliberately eroding the board’s capacity to function, starting by undermining its quorum.

“When you actively reduce the quorum of the board through promises… as the mayor said in our meeting, which was called to come and give an indication as to where we stand regarding measures which should be taken to mediate the conflict… we thought that the board, having constituted an investigation into the cause of the conflict, would present that report.

“Unfortunately, on that day, (Nthatisi) did not present the report, but he said he wants to make it clear... that the report from the investigators is not good,” Mokitlane explained.

He alleged that when the board requested access to the report, Nthatisi refused to release it, saying he would only do so after tabling a motion of no confidence in the council meeting. 

Mokitlane believed this was part of a calculated effort to disband the board from within. “Towards the meeting, several people who were on the board promptly resigned without being given reasons…

Previous board ‘was also collapsed’

“When he submits this motion to the council to dissolve us, people must not be afraid or have a problem resigning on their own... the process will ensure that some of them who reapply can be taken back,” Mokitlane said, attributing the resignations to political pressure.

“The board before us, I’m sure, was also collapsed because at the time it was taken to the council for dissolution, there were only two people.”

At the time of the interview, Mokitlane said the current board had seen three resignations, with only four members remaining.

“Three months before this spectacle, I told myself... I’d rather resign and then go home because I don’t want to taint my image with what is happening there (at Centlec).”

He also raised concerns about the treatment of workers and the board’s limited ability to intervene due to ongoing tensions with executive management.

“You talk about the issue of employees who are working under difficult conditions: I have to accede to that because many come to me, but in terms of the power structure, there is very little the board can do,” he said.

The conflict has severely impeded the board’s oversight role, Mokitlane said. “One of the questions which I asked the executive mayor when I arrived here, appointed together with the rest of the people in 2023, was why there is so much instability concerning the boards…” 

It is something that the Auditor General of South Africa expressed concern about. “He couldn’t answer me at the time.”

Mokitlane had disclosed that the board had previously been denied access to the Centlec premises by security and had even been physically removed. They were recently told there was no room available for them to hold their meeting.

Meanwhile, Centlec CEO Malefane Sekoboto has made serious allegations in court documents, accusing Centlec communications manager Lele Mamatu and Mokitlane of conspiring to orchestrate his downfall.

OFM News has contacted the mayor for comment.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs