Nepotism claim haunts Madibeng mayor

The mayor of the Madibeng Local Municipality, Douglas Maimane, is being haunted by allegations of nepotism, and the Public Protector has been asked to investigate whether the new intern hired is his relative.

This was after it was discovered that Karabo Nkutshweu, who works in the finance section, shares a surname with another municipality employee, Bonolo Nkutshweu, whom Maimane previously confirmed was his daughter.

However, the mayor now denies that Karabo is his daughter.

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In response to a resident’s query, Maimane’s chief of staff, Senzo Ncongolo, said: “Please note that the executive mayor does not have a daughter named Karabo Nkutshweu.

“The office of the executive mayor has no interns working in its office. We further have no knowledge of the staff complement of other municipal departments.”

Ncongolo promised to share the municipal recruitment policy saying: “We do not have a policy that addresses employees’ relatives. Please note that the executive mayor does not get involved in the recruitment of staff in the municipality.”

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The pending probe emerged after a concerned resident approached the Public Protector to investigate the alleged employment of an intern related to his daughter, given their shared surname and home address, both of which are in the finance department.

Madibeng mayor’s daughter?

The protector’s office in Mahikeng acknowledged receipt of the resident’s letter on 7 May and said the matter would be assessed to determine whether the protector had a mandate to investigate. The office promised to respond within 10 working days.

Maimane admitted during the public protector’s investigation that Bonolo in the mayoral department was his daughter. Another issue that attracted attention to the new young woman, Karabo, was that in her fixed-term employment contract, she used the address of a vacant plot in Letlhabile, Madibeng, where she obviously does not reside.

The resident also asked the protector to probe a case of misrepresentation or fraud allegedly made by the employee who allegedly provided a false address and to investigate Maimane’s role in the woman’s appointment.

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– ericn@citizen.co.za