Call for Limpopo Premier to ‘fire mayors’ implicated in VBS fiasco

The Bolsheviks party of South Africa wants Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha to clean his house before he “leaves for Cape Town”.

Calls for Limpopo Premier to ‘fire mayors’ implicated in VBS

The party has written to Mathabatha pleading with him to fire the remaining mayors allegedly implicated in the illicit investment of municipal millions into the defunct VBS Mutual Bank.

The party said it had been reliably informed that Mathabatha was heading for national office in Cape Town after the ANC Limpopo provincial elective conference to be held around March.

“We want him to fire these ones first before he leaves,” said party secretary-general, Seun Mogotji.

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On Thursday, spokesperson for the Limpopo provincial government, Ndavhe Ramakuela, said they have noted the correspondence from Tjale Attorneys, who are acting on behalf of Bolsheviks party.

“We are studying the letter through our legal team and we shall provide [a] response within the next seven days.”

Mogotji said in 2018, seven mayors were fired for the wrongful investment of municipal funds into the collapsed
VBS Mutual Bank.

“They were fired for ignoring the red tape from National Treasury, which forbade municipalities from investing public funds into a mutual bank,” he said.

“They were also fired for contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act when investing the monies.

“When they were fired, Mathabatha left out several other mayors, mostly from the Sekhukhune region.”

Municipalities in Limpopo invested a total of R1. 2 billion in VBS. About nine municipalities could not receive back their monies while the remainder received them, some with profit.

Limpopo has 27 district and local municipalities. Sekhukhune, which is one of the five districts, has four local
councils. Only the Sekhukhune district municipality that did not fall into the investment trap.

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“I am on record that Mathabatha could not fire mayors for Makhuduthamaga, Fetakgomo/Tubatse, Ephraim Mogale
and Elias Motsoaledi for reasons, only known to him,” said Mogotji.

“Money lost by the four municipalities amounts to over R300 million and, according to the Great Bank Heist report by advocate Terry Motau, remedial action should have been taken against all the mayors.

“But because of some sort of political allegiances, some were more special than others and were spared.

“Some of those still being investigated by the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies had been promoted to
high-ranking positions in district and local municipalities across the province as members of the mayoral committees.

“That is why the Bolsheviks says: ‘Mr Mathabatha, please clean up your house before you leave for Cape Town’.”

– news@citizen.co.za