By Nkhensani Chauke
The North West Provincial Legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), chaired by Smuts Matshe, has instructed MEC for Cooperative Governance, Gaoage Molapisi, to urgently restore the rule of law at Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality.
This follows SCOPA’s public hearings on the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) last Friday, where the municipality was questioned about R1.1 billion in irregular expenditure during the 2023/24 financial year.
The municipality has been without a permanent mayor since early 2025 following the resignation of former mayor Tshireletso Marabutse.
Before that, he had been on leave from December 2024 to March 2025, with an acting mayor appointed during his absence.
However, after his resignation, the council ended the acting arrangements, leaving the municipality without mayoral leadership.
Matshe criticised the situation as unacceptable, saying it was absurd that the provincial government placed Kagisano-Molopo under Section 139(1)(a), yet COGTA has allowed it to operate illegally without a mayor or acting mayor for such a long period.
“This represents a total disregard for the law, a collapse of accountability, and a fertile ground for corruption, fraud, maladministration, and all forms of malfeasance,” said Matshe.
“COGTA must attend to this matter urgently. We will not process an audit report for a municipality operating unlawfully. No municipality should function without a mayor or key office bearers. Kagisano-Molopo is clearly in crisis—almost all senior managers, including the Municipal Manager, are in acting positions. Without proper leadership, officials operate without supervision and may take unguided decisions.”
Matshe further warned that the ongoing leadership vacuum undermines governance and disrespects the people of Kagisano-Molopo.
“We cannot continue to tolerate a situation where the people of Kagisano-Molopo are being undermined and allow gross disregard for the rule of law- a true democracy has to have consequences for those failing the people,” he said.
Council Speaker Pretty Moirwagale confirmed to SCOPA that the municipality has been operating without a mayor since the beginning of 2025.
“Our then Mayor, Cllr Tshireletso Marabutse was on leave from December 2024 until March 2025 and an Acting Mayor was elected during that period. At the beginning of 2025, the Council resolved to end the Acting arrangements once the resignation of the substantive Mayor was confirmed leading to us operating without a Mayor,” said Moirwagale.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is expected to send a senior delegation to Kagisano-Molopo in the coming week to meet with the council, provide legal guidance, and ensure compliance with legislation governing the election of a mayor or acting mayor.
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