By Thebe Mabanga
The embattled Thabazimbi Local Municipality is facing fresh allegations of corruption and governance failures, with Municipal Manager Gopolang Clement Letsoalo accused of withholding critical reports from the mayor and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC).
Since taking office in April last year, Letsoalo is said to have effected suspensions and dismissals that at one point cost the council R1.2 million per month, according to MPAC chair Freek Erasmus, a Freedom Front councillor.
A consultant who has done work for the municipality and remains eligible to do so, and who did not want to be named or have his specialised role identified, told Inside Metros: “The Municipal Manager and some senior administration officials have captured the council with the intent to loot it.”
The latest controversy centres on the removal of mayor Tumisang Pilane and Speaker Dingaan Sebata.
The two were elected in December 2024 and were ousted at a special council sitting held shortly before Human Rights Day in March.
The sitting was overseen by Letsoalo, while Pilane and Sebata were removed through a motion of no confidence brought by the Labour Party, which is led on an interim basis by unionist and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) founder Joseph Mathunjwa.
At that sitting, Andries Tshukudu of the ANC was elected mayor, while Daniel Mampeule of the Labour Party was elected speaker.
Sources and informants allege that Letsoalo orchestrated the outcome.
Approached for comment, Pilane declined to comment and referred all queries to the council.
“The Labour Party of South Africa (Labour Party) welcomes the election of its Councillor, Daniel Mampeule, as Speaker of the Thabazimbi Local Municipality,” the party said of Mamepuele’s election.
“The Party views this development as a decisive step in stabilising a municipality that has suffered prolonged governance failure, political infighting and service delivery collapse, and emphasises that the true measure of this new leadership, particularly in the period leading up to the 2026/2027 Local Government Elections, will be delivery to the working class and communities.”
According to Capricorn FM, the Democratic Alliance criticised the move, “saying it reflects instability and factions within the ANC in that municipality.”
Erasmus told Inside Metros that Letsoalo has repeatedly refused to hand over oversight reports to the MPAC to exercise its duty.
He said that over the past year, the City Manager has effected suspensions and failed attempts at dismissal that have cost the council R1.2 million in salaries and the use of external service providers to carry out disciplinary proceedings
The failure to submit what is known as Section 71 reports to Pilane while he was mayor appears to be the cause of the breakdown in their relationship.
Pilane is said to have attempted to dismiss Letsoalo without success.
The attempts to remove Letsoalo appear to be at the centre of the Motion of No Confidence.
Curiously, Letsoalo is now said to be challenging in court an attempt at dismissal by Pilane yet he is still in his position.
One of Pilane’s attempts to dismiss Letsoalo was at the end of February, in a meeting that either did not quorate or did not enjoy full support of council
Letsoalo was sent detailed questions but declined to comment and said the matter was “sub judice” without specifying which matter is before court.
Letsoalo was dismissive of further questions and said the query ignores the council “achievements” of stabilising leadership, improvement in grants spending and consequences management without providing specific details or numbers.
Erasmus says the council’s Internal Audit Committee is dysfunctional with only one person employed as a member.
Erasmus says the council also does not have an Audit and Financial Misconduct committee and was to have appointed one by the end of April.
This is confirmed by the Auditor General, who says that the council has been unable to carry out investigations into Unauthorised, Irregular Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure for the past three financial years.
The Auditor General gives a withering assessment of Thabazimbi’s finances with little improvement recorded over the past three financial years.
The overall audit opinion moved from a disclaimer in 2023/2024 financial year to a qualified opinion in 2024/2025.
Across nine areas of legislative compliance, only two — asset management and the utilisation of conditional grants — have improved, moving from material findings, which are worse than a disclaimer, to no material findings.Letsoalo made reference to improvement in grant spending in his casual response.
Under procurement and contract management, all six areas — including deviations and conflicts of interest — were found to have material findings.
The Auditor-General says she referred a total of 29 incidents of irregular expenditure, eight of fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and one incident of unauthorised expenditure over the past three years, and none have been acted on.
The municipality is mired in allegations of corruption, including claims of intimidation of whistle-blowers. Very little action appears to have been taken on any of these.
The Thabazimbi Local Municipality has been under administration in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution since September 2024. In December 2024, the entire council was dissolved and fresh by-elections were held for all 23 seats.
The ANC holds 10 seats, meaning it does not have an outright majority.
The DA holds four seats, the EFF has three, while the Labour Party and the Freedom Front hold two seats each. The Thabazimbi Residents Association and the MK Party each hold one seat.
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