By Nkhensani Chauke
The DA has accused Sedibeng District Municipality mayor Lerato Maloka of nepotism and the history of prioritizing political connections over qualifications.
This comes after the appointments of Maloka’s two daughters and the daughter of the MMC for Finance, Bishop Jones, at the Sedibeng District Municipality’s licensing department.
DA Emfuleni North constituency head, Kingsol Chabalala, said in response to written questions that MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo, confirmed 13 appointments in the licensing department since 2021.
“He also provided a list of all individuals appointed by this department during that time. Mamabolo indicated that the positions were advertised on the Sedibeng Municipality’s website, circulated to all users via GroupWise, and posted on notice boards,” said Chabalala.
“The MEC further states that he does not have information to confirm or deny whether any of the employees are related to any politicians serving as a sitting councilor in Sedibeng.”
The DA seeks to guarantee that the appointments were based on merit, and not influenced by the individual’s relationships with the Mayor and MMC.
“The DA calls on MEC Mamabolo to urgently initiate an investigation into this matter. It is essential to determine whether the three individuals were appointed based on their qualifications of if their relationships with the Mayor and the MMC influenced their appointments,” he said.
Chabalala said the party was seeking for transparency regarding whether these relationships were disclosed before the appointments were made.
“Additionally, we need to find out if these relationships were disclosed before the appointments were made,” he said.
The DA also called on Mamabolo to urgently initiate an investigation into this matter.
“However if the MEC does not initiate an investigation, the DA will escalate the matter to the public protector to ensure that action taken,” he said.
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