“Change of leadership required at ELM”: Opposition Parties

VANDERBIJLPARK.- A competent, qualified, productive and well-deserved Administrator should be appointed to lead the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) until the next local government elections.

This is the view of opposition parties following the suspension of the ELM Municipal Manager (MM), Luck Leseane, last Thursday.
The ELM announced on Friday that it had resolved to place Leseane under ‘precautionary suspension’. The decision was made during a special council meeting on Thursday.

ELM Mayoral Spokesperson, Lebo Mofokeng said that this came after a series of reports, served before the ELM Council, regarding the alleged misconduct and poor performance of Leseane.

“Executive Mayor Gift Moerane has been mandated by the Council to appoint an independent body to investigate all the allegations against the MM.”

The MM is the link between the council and the administration, of which he is the head. He has to account for the municipality’s income and expenditure, assets and other obligations such as proper adherence to all legislation applicable to municipality.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Sedibeng said that it sees the ‘removal’ of Leseane as a step in the right direction, only if also the Mayor, his executive and the entire ANC-led administration is removed.
“The changing and suspension of individuals without the removal of the collective through a vote is like trying to solve a long-term problem with a temporal solution. It is not for the first time that a suspension has been placed on an individual pending investigation.
“ We believe (that) for real changes to happen suspension(s) should be placed on the entire ANC-led administration through a vote by the masses otherwise this exercise is bound to fail like many others before it,” said EFF Sedibeng Regional Chairperson, Isaac Khikhitha.
The ELM said that it has appointed Thabo Ndlovu as the acting MM pending the finalization of the matter.
Mofokeng said that Moerane assures the community that the municipality will continue to work together with the Gauteng Provincial Government to ensure that the provision of service delivery is not affected.

Meanwhile the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) said that it believes that the suspension of Leseane will not take the ‘debilitating affairs’ of the municipality anywhere as he is not the first one to be suspended.
“What is required is the complete change of political leadership and dissolution of the municipal council. Then (appoint) a qualified, component administrator who will govern till next local Government elections,” said PAC General Secretary, Apa Pooe. He further said that the first priority of the new administrator should be to investigate all corruption in the municipality, deal with the matters of electricity turn offs, sewer spillage, refuse collection, roads maintenance and the indigent register. “Once all of the above has been attended, (it can) then deal with poor payment of services.”