Sasolburg municipality in limbo as mayor and municipal manager at war

Tensions are high at the Fezile Dabi District Municipality offices in Sasolburg as a feud between suspended ANC mayor Oumix Oliphant and municipal manager Lindi Molibeli threatens to tear the municipality apart.

At the centre of the tension is the refusal of the mayor to approve the employment of the municipal manager because of allegations of maladministration and corruption against her.

The issue emanated from a factional battle within the ANC Fezile Dabi regional executive committee, which was said to be siding with the municipal manager against the mayor for refusing to approve the manager’s employment.

Molibeli has, however, been reporting for duty, despite her employment contract not being approved.

Oliphant, meanwhile, was suspended by the regional ANC recently for refusing to hire the manager, and has also insisted on coming to her office as she believed that her suspension by the party had no bearing on her work as mayor.

This led to Molibeli appointing security guards to protect the municipal offices and to prevent Oliphant from entering the Sasolburg-based municipal building.

On Thursday Oliphant tried to force her way into the building, but the burly men allegedly pushed her away. On Friday, the mayor returned with her own security personnel, nearly leading to a confrontation outside the municipal offices. The Citizen is in possession of video footage of both incidents.

Oliphant has taken her suspension to the council several times but has been unsuccessful in her attempts to have the matter considered or discussed. In her papers, the mayor argues she was suspended because she refused to comply with an instruction to unlawfully appoint Molibeli as municipal manager.

While on duty, Molibeli allegedly conducted a number of administrative transactions and approved the hiring of service providers without following proper adjudication processes and without the approval of the council.

INFO

• The Citizen contacted both Oliphant and Molibeli for their comments. Molibeli asked for written questions, to which she has not responded since Thursday.
• Oliphant declined to comment and referred us to municipal spokesperson Thomas Noptjhe, who has not answered his phone since Friday.
• The ANC’s acting regional secretary, Brutus Mahlaku, promised to respond but his phone remained switched off yesterday.