By Thebe Mabanga
Thabazimbi Local Municipality in Limpopo has placed municipal manager Clement Letsoalo on precautionary suspension over alleged tender irregularities linked to a R52.9 million road construction project, according to council sources and municipal documents seen by Inside Metros.
The suspension was resolved during a special council sitting on Wednesday, where Letsoalo is understood to have resisted the move by refusing to recuse himself and threatening legal action.
Letsoalo, who was appointed in April last year, has faced mounting scrutiny during his tenure, which has been marked by a series of suspensions within the municipality that were at one stage reported to be costing the municipality about R1.2 million a month.
Earlier this week, Letsoalo approached the Polokwane High Court to challenge a previous attempt to dismiss him during a February 28 council sitting. The application was brought against former mayor Tumisang Pilane and former speaker Dingaan Sebata. Judgment was reserved.
The latest suspension relates to a disputed road construction tender in Regorogile Extension 8. A recent oversight visit by the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) reportedly identified discrepancies and unaccounted-for expenditure linked to the project. The MPAC findings formed the basis of the suspension resolution.
During the same council meeting, concerns were also raised over approximately R15 million of a reported R40 million disaster relief allocation received by the municipality about a month ago. Councillors alleged the funds had already been spent without supporting documentation being provided.
The Regorogile tender has faced challenges since it was awarded in May 2025. The Auditor-General reportedly found that the contract did not comply with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) standards.
The tender is also the subject of a complaint lodged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) by a whistleblower described as a “person of authority” under the legislation.
The complaint alleges that two contractors, Mes Major Projects and Avenir Civil Contractors, failed to comply with several tender requirements, including attendance of compulsory briefing sessions, tax compliance and submission of financial statements. The whistleblower further alleges the companies failed to disclose other directorships and misrepresented the status of key employees.
According to the allegations, the Bid Evaluation Committee awarded the bidders a score of 98 points instead of disqualifying them.
The project has also been plagued by stoppages and disruptions. Following a public notice issued by Letsoalo two weeks ago, the project was officially relaunched on Monday by mayor Andries Tshukudu.
Tshukudu and council speaker Daniel Mampeule were approached for comment and undertook to respond, but had not done so by publication.
Letsoalo is also facing other allegations contained in whistleblower statements, including claims that a transformer was procured at an inflated price, installation costs were paid externally and municipal workers were later used to carry out the installation.
His appointment has previously attracted controversy. In 2024, while serving as municipal manager at Kgetlengrivier Municipality in North West, Letsoalo was found to have increased his salary by R100,000 without council approval.
Before that, while serving as chief financial officer at Dipaleseng Municipality in Mpumalanga, a forensic investigation reportedly recommended further investigation into whether he benefited from an irregular payment of R51 million.
Letsoalo did not respond to questions sent by Inside Metros over the past two weeks.
INSIDE METROS
