 in the Sol Plaatje Municipality has demanded transparency regarding the prolonged absence of the manager of Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) Winston Moyahi, whose unexplained six-month special leave has cast uncertainty over Kimberley’s R2.5 billion water infrastructure project.){kind=link}
By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Sol Plaatje Municipality has demanded transparency regarding the prolonged absence of the manager of Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) Winston Moyahi, whose unexplained six-month special leave has cast uncertainty over Kimberley’s R2.5 billion water infrastructure project.
DA Councillor Willie Erasmus said the municipality’s continued silence on Moyahi’s employment status and the management of the mega water project was unacceptable and potentially damaging to service delivery and public trust.
“To date, the council has been left entirely in the dark regarding the special leave arrangement. We have not been informed of the period for which leave was granted or who authorised it. We have no idea whether Moyahi is utilising vacation leave, holiday leave, or if his leave takes the form of a precautionary suspension, and whether he is still being paid,” Erasmus said.
According to the municipality’s own statement, Moyahi requested special leave after appearing in court earlier this year in May, in connection with an matter involving an engineering firm from over 22 years ago.
At the time, now-suspended Municipal Manager Thapelo Matlala said the decision to grant leave was “in the best interests of the municipality” due to reputational risks, given that Moyahi’s department oversees the city’s largest infrastructure investment.
However, five months later, the council had still not received any formal communication detailing the terms or duration of Moyahi’s absence, Erasmus said.
The DA further questioned whether anyone had been appointed to act in Moyahi’s position to ensure the continuation of BFI operations and oversight.
The BFI is a key national funding instrument designed to support municipalities with large-scale, strategic infrastructure investments.
In Kimberley’s case, it underpins the massive R2.5 billion project aimed at upgrading and modernising the city’s collapsing water infrastructure, a persistent source of resident frustration due to frequent outages and pipe bursts.
“The DA is deeply concerned about the financial ramifications of the special leave arrangement in relation to remuneration matters, as well as the impact that this could have on the effective use of the BFI grant,” Erasmus said.
The DA has formally resubmitted its unanswered questions to the offices of the municipal manager and the speaker.
Last year, Sol Plaatje reportedly had to forfeit over R54 million in unspent grant funds earmarked for water system upgrades after failing to meet national spending deadlines.
Erasmus said the DA would not allow history to repeat itself.
He said the party’s objective was not to interfere with ongoing legal matters, but to ensure that governance processes remained transparent and that the municipality maintained operational stability.
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