Cape Town — The African National Congress (ANC) in the North West has been accused of double standards by acting against some and ignoring others, who are not qualified for their jobs.
The residents in the Mamusa local municipality in Scweizer-Reneke were concerned after the party removed the North West legislature speaker, Tshepo Khoza, and initiated an investigation into Sports, Arts and Culture MEC, Collen Maine, for not having the necessary qualifications, The Citizen reported.
The party, however, failed to do the same at the Mamusa council, which was rocked by the controversy of several senior officials being unqualified. Khoza had allegedly misrepresented his qualifications and was forced to resign by the ANC.
The ANC said Khoza had resigned to “afford himself time” to deal with the allegations, while it was also reported that Maine produced an alleged fraudulent matric certificate and a fake degree from Mancosa before the institution came into existence.
Mamusa resident’s concerns were heightened after council speaker, Gotsilekgosi Batsi, was hired in February this year despite not having a matric certificate and allegedly producing a fake degree qualification.
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He was questioned as to how he received the degree without any senior certification. An anonymous ANC member said the double standards in the party could lead to reprisals, and blamed Batsi for all the troubles in the Mamusa council.
Among the other council members who did not have any relevant qualifications included Vincent Masilo and Rantso Gincane. Gincane was removed as municipal manager for not having the required degree, while Masilo only had a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, meaning he was not meant to be shortlisted for the position in the first place.
According to Sunday World, the SACP in the North West clashed with the ANC over the decision to dismiss four mayors and redeploy other members. In the past four months, the ANC has fired four mayors – James Tsolela of the City of Matlosana Local Municipality, Tumisang Gaoraelwe of the Greater Taung Local Municipality, and most recently, Cliffton Groep of Naledi Local Municipality and Tshireletso Marabutse of Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality.
SACP provincial secretary, Madoda Sambatha, said the party was dissatisfied with the ANC; ‘s decision and said the problem was that the persons deployed were the responsibility of the extended PEC, not solely that of the ANC.
Samantha said it was unfair for the PEC to make the decision alone, while the PEC chairperson.
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“It is now surprising that the same people who participated in the appointment are done without involving the alliance. We are not saying they cannot take the decision, at least [have the] courtesy to say the people we have interviewed and assessed for appointments have now to be redeployed,” Sambatha said.
PEC chairperson, Nono Maloyi, said the changes should not be seen as a failure to appoint credible leaders, and that there was no crisis.
Maloyi said the party had requested the affected mayors and other members in leadership positions at various municipalities to resign. The party was happy with those it had deployed and that service delivery will now be accelerated.
Maloyi added that the ANC removed the mayors to ensure stability.
“When we act, we don’t act because we do not like you; we act because we have the interest of our people at heart. Our people are suffering out there; our people need service, and that is why we said we need people who are fit for purpose for them to be able to do this work, which is very important,” he said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
