Mopani District Municipality’s new manager

One thing he knows is that the challenge he faces of stabilising and turning the situation around at the institution will be massive, but he however does not consider it impossible.

One key element that the newly appointed acting manager of Mopani District Municipality (MDM), Nare Ngoepe is going to bring to the institution is his wealth of experience in financial management sector. According to MDM’s spokesperson, Neil Shikwambana, Ngoepe was seconded to MDM from the Provincial Treasury following a request by the MDM Council after the suspension of the municipal manager Tim Maake earlier this year.

Addressing employees on his arrival, Ngoepe indicated that he is not bringing miracles to the institution; ‘I must say assertively that I am neither here as a miracle worker nor a panacea for the challenges faced by this institution. But I am here to work together with all of you to turn around the situation faced by this institution. It is only through your cooperation that together we can take Mopani District Municipality back to its former glory,’ he said.

Ngoepe boasts of a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) Degree and Bcom Honours respectively from the University of Limpopo and also a Diploma in Criminal Justice and Forensic Investigations obtained from the University of Johannesburg. He cut his teeth in the financial management field working for Poopedi and Company as a Bookkeeper in 2001. Since then he never looked back. He worked as a part time lecturer for Accounting at the University of Limpopo.

In 2004, he worked for the Office of the Auditor General of South Africa as a Trainee Accountant. He later joined the office of the premier in Limpopo where he worked as a Senior Internal Auditor and a part time Accounting lecturer at UNISA.

From there, he joined the University of South Africa where he lectured in accounting. He was passionate to contribute to the civil service that made him consider his move back to government.

In 2006, he joined the National Department of Public Works as an Assistant Director. His hard work was later rewarded when two years later, he was appointed Deputy Director for Risk Management by the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS). He later moved to join the Limpopo Provincial Treasury where he is currently employed as a Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Coordinator, a position equivalent to General Manager responsible for among other things, oversee the municipal budget process and ensure that there is adherence to the budget regulations and timelines, advise Head of department on the state of the municipal finances in all municipalities in the province, prepare reports to the Intergovernmental Relations Structures, manage the performance of the municipal finance staff, manage the performance of the Treasury Municipal Finance in the entire province five Districts. He also served as part of the intervention team in various municipalities.

Ngoepe believes that a well-oiled staff machinery is a big asset for any well-functioning institution.

“It is not rocket science that any great institution that is worth its salt, certainly understands as part of its foundational principles that the greatest and most important asset of all its possession is the human resources/workers,” he said.