Molemole mayor confident to meet challenges head-on
Within less than 10 days after the Molemole Municipality Council inauguration of the new mayor, Edward Paya, he is already in the hot seat.
LIMPOPO –Â This is due to him being labelled as a foreigner who cannot lead the council, by other politicians and councils in within the municipality.
Paya took over the reigns from Pauline Makgato who served as mayor during the previous term from 2011 to 2016.
CV received information about these allegations from an anonymous source within the municipality who said the communities of Molemole don’t want Paya as the mayor for their municipality.
“We were surprised to see him elected and appointed as our mayor. We expected Makgato to retain her position as mayor for this term, so it came as a big shock for us when Paya was inaugurated,” the source said.
Kgoshi Kgwadu Machaka also came under fire as one of the people who labelled Paya as a foreigner who cannot be a mayor in their municipality.
He denied these allegations and refuted making such statements.
Machaka officially bestowed Paya with the mayoral chain during the inauguration ceremony at Machaka traditional council offices last Wednesday.
“Paya is our son who was born and bred in this municipality’s soil and with that we cannot fight him.
“People should not rely much on media because we sometimes get painted in a negative light,” Machaka said.
“The ANC gave him to us and I believe all the discord and allegations come from within the political spheres. We are not in politics and we won’t entertain these allegations.
“What we want is to see Paya delivering services to our people in a good way,” he added.
In response to the allegations from the office of the mayor, Paya said in the world of politics there has never been peace, however, one needs to be strong enough to handle the diversity when you enter politics.
“Politics is just politics. When the ANC gives someone the responsibility of occupying the position of mayor, it means they have certain expectations of you. All these allegations and scandals will never derail me because I’ve been a leader before and have overcome similar challenges. As the new mayor, I look forward to bringing proper service delivery to my people,” Paya said.
