Dimakatso Modise, who is no stranger to controversy, allegedly submitted her resignation letter on Wednesday (6/5), following sustained pressure from the ANC provincial leadership. Her resignation comes months after the party first instructed her to vacate office.

In a letter from ANC provincial secretary Polediso Motsoeneng, Modise was requested to submit the same resignation letter she had handed over to the Masilonyana municipal manager in her capacity as both councillor and mayor of the ailing municipality. Motsoeneng had cautioned that failure to comply with the directive would lead to “dire consequences”.

Modise is among several defiant ANC councillors in the province who had been recalled by the party’s provincial leadership. The ANC had last year instructed members of the troika comprising mayors, speakers, and chief whips in struggling municipalities in the province to step down, citing ongoing failures in governance and service delivery.

Municipalities under scrutiny included Mafube, Moqhaka, Letsemeng, Nketoana, Nala, Masilonyana and the Lejweleputswa District Municipality. However, some mayors, including Modise, refused to comply and escalated their concerns to the party’s national leadership, questioning the legitimacy of the provincial structure’s decisions.

The troika members wrote to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula outlining their reasons for resisting the directive. In response, Mbalula confirmed that the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) had endorsed the reconfiguration of municipalities in the Free State as part of a broader local government action plan.

“In the Free State, we have intervened in Lejweleputswa, Letsemeng (Petrusburg), Mafube (Frankfort), Masilonyana, Moqhaka, Nala (Bothaville), and Nketoana (Reitz). This is aligned with the ANC’s commitment to strengthening local governance, improving service delivery, and ensuring accountability to communities,” said Mbalula.

“The ANC continues to prioritise ethical leadership, capacity building, and stability in local government as essential to advancing the district development model and fulfilling the constitutional mandate of developmental governance,” he said.

Modise’s tenure has been marred by multiple scandals. Most recently, she faced allegations of misleading Parliament over a controversial trip to KwaZulu-Natal, which she allegedly undertook using a state vehicle and credit card under questionable circumstances. 

The trip drew scrutiny after Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and Human Settlements, Saki Mokoena, confirmed provincial authorities had attempted to locate her while she was reportedly in Durban.

Her leadership also came under fire during a Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) hearing, where Members of Parliament criticised the dire state of Masilonyana Municipality. It was revealed that only R100 had been allocated for water and sewerage infrastructure in the 2022/2023 financial year.

The municipality has also been grappling with severe financial challenges, including ongoing issues with salary payments. 

Recently, workers faced delays in receiving their wages, with some only expecting payment by Friday following intervention by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU). The situation has been exacerbated by the continued attachment of the municipality’s bank accounts.

 OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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