IMPASSE LOOMING OVER CALLS FOR DISMISSAL OF SOL’S TOPMOST OFFICIALS

Kimberley 02/07/2018- Representatives of the Sol Plaatje Community are threatening a state of shutdown in  Kimberley should the Executive Mayor of Sol Plaatje Municipality Mangaliso Matika fail to dismiss the Municipal Manager  Goolam Akharwaray and Chief Financial Officer Lydia Mahloko.

Thousands of Kimberley residents participated in a march that brought the city to a standstill for much of the morning of last week Wednesday, prompting the ANC’s topmost provincial leadership to instruct the municipality not to implement its new electricity tariff structure which was set for 1 July 2018.

Spokesperson for the community group Tebogo Obusitse said the municipality has until this Wednesday to accede to their demand for the immediate sacking of Akharwaray and Mahloko.

“You would remember we send the 6 demands and only two were not met. 1. The issue of the PR company, 2. The action that needs to be taken against the CFO (Mahloko) and MM (Akharwaray) for their immediate removal.

“Today (Sunday, 1 July) the community insisted that we should shutdown from tomorrow but we advised them that we should at least wait until Wednesday for the two issues to be dealt with. The community wants the Mayor to go if he can’t take action against his administration,” stated Obusitse in a text response to NCNN.LIVE.

With the municipality having favourably responded to implementing the community’s proposed reduced electricity price structure which is also not inclusive of the basic R260 charge and the 5.95% price increase, Matika warned against the unprocedural sacking of the two administrative bigwigs in a letter of response to the community’s memorandum of demands.

“On the matter relating to the resignation of the Municipal Manager and the Chief Financial Officer, we wish to state that we are governed by laws and must at all times act within the parameters of the law. We request that any transgressions of the laws regulating their respective offices, that such information be brought forward for investigation and processing through due process.”

On the call for the immediate termination of the contract of a public relations company as demanded, Matika replied with; “We request that the matter of the appointment of the Public Relations company, we be allowed to gather all necessary information and that management make a full presentation in the next council meeting.”

NCNN.LIVE’s exclusive report of 29 May 2018 on the illegal practice of an extra R1 charge on every R10 worth of electricity prepaid purchase from tuckshops owned by foreign nationals was also listed as demand. “Council has noted the non-compliance of the tuck-shop owners charging additional cost in electricity sales and the matter is getting attention. We will also put signs on all shops for awareness,” further stated Matika in the letter.

Tebogo Obusitse in foreground wearing white cap at last week’s massive community march
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Thabo Mothibi is a former broadcast journalist (TV and Radio) – with specialist reporting experience; SABC Political/Parliamentary and TRC Teams over a period of five years (1995 to 2000).

One key foreign assignment - is the 11-nation African Connection Rally – overland journey from Africa’s northern-most pole in the coastal Tunisian city of Bizerte to the southern-most pole in South Africa’s Cape Agulhas. From the journalistic years, Thabo then delved into Government media liaison and serving two former Ministers and three MECs. He became the Northern Cape Provincial Government’s first department based Communications Director at Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - 2008-2010 – where he also served as Head of Ministry from 2003 – 2008.

As a former anti-apartheid activist, his political background and professional training aided him in spearheading the Northern Cape ANC’s 2004 National Elections media and publicity campaign and that of the 2006 Local Government Elections.

Whilst based in Waterkloof in Pretoria -2010 to end 2011, he consulted for Manstrat Agricultural Intelligence, then returned to the Northern Cape in 2012 to date, to consult independently and pursue other entrepreneurial interests in media and communications through KwaVuko Communications and Marketing.

Thabo Mothibi obtained his NQF7 through Wits University’s Graduate School of Public and Development Management (P&DM) in Johannesburg, a Unilever Mandela Rhodes Academy for Marketing and Communications Academy (UMRA). The goal of the NQF7 programme was to educate and train public and private sector professional communicators and marketers in government communications..

Goolam AkharwarayLydia MahlokoMangaliso MatikaProtest ActionSol Plaatje MunicipalityTebogo Obusitse
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