Waterberg’s ex-mayor investigated for destabilising Thabazimbi municipality

The ANC in Limpopo is investigating former Waterberg mayor Shimane Morris Mataboge following allegations of sowing divisions and destabilising the beleaguered Thabazimbi local municipality and the Thabazimbi municipal council, Saturday Citizen has learnt.

Mataboge, who is also a member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature in Lebowakgomo and a member of the ANC provincial executive committee, is also accused of holding clandestine night meetings with subregional councillors of the troubled Thabazimbi local municipality.

The meetings are said to have been aimed at sowing divisions in the council, creating factional groupings and rendering the municipality ungovernable.

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Mayor allegedly destabilised Thabazimbi

Two ANC bigwigs in the province, who are both members of the ANC Limpopo’s PEC, told Saturday Citizen that Mataboge is also accused of being part of the reasons the National Council of Provinces confirmed the decision by the Limpopo provincial government’s executive council last month to place the Thabazimbi municipality under administration.

On 18 September, the Limpopo exco invoked the provisions of Section 139 (1) (c) which enabled the provincial government to dissolve the Thabazimbi local municipal council and place it under administration.

The decision gave powers to the provincial government to run the institution on behalf of the different political parties which previously governed the council.

The administrators, led by local governance expert Mavi Paul Maseko, will run the council for 90-days until the by-elections for a new political leadership ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) spokesperson Mathole Jimmy Machaka said the issues was among those discussed at last week’s PEC meeting. Supporters of Mataboge came to his defence.

A source in the Waterberg regional executive committee said: “Mataboge is a gentle man. A man of integrity and care.

“I don’t know of any clandestine meeting. The Limpopo ANC PEC is just witch-hunting.”

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