By Craig Kotze
Captured ELM councillors – many of whom do not pay their municipal bills – seemingly beholden to the “utterly incompetent” acting municipal manager – have again voted for an extension to his contract, despite smart meter revenue losses now at almost R100 million.
ELM has refused to divulge how many councillors do not pay their municipal bills – as specifically required of councillors by Law – nor whether their boss, Speaker, Maipato Tsokolibane, is up to date with her own municipal payments.
Contract extension for acting Municipal Manager Dithaba Oupa Nkoane was approved by ELM council earlier this month and again after a sham council meeting cancellation due to “protest action” was again used to delay proceedings – this time choosing his permanent successor.
Nkoane will now stay until the end of March – and still in control of processes choosing his successor and able to make executive decisions to strengthen existing patronage networks at ELM and apply scorched earth measures to make the job of a permanent Municipal Manager impossible.
Political and civil society sources and stakeholders have identified the non-payment of municipal bills by councillors as part of the leverage used by Nkoane to be voted an extension to his contract twice within six months despite almost two years of unmitigated governance disasters.
“ELM Councillors who do not pay for their lights and water and other services are in the power of Nkoane who has done nothing to get them to pay – even as ELM staggers under a culture of non-payment throughout Emfuleni,” said informed political sources.
This effectively means that Nkoane exerts political control over sections of the Sedibeng ANC, despite his mismanagement becoming an increasingly larger problem for the ruling party before upcoming municipal elections.
Nkoane’s meddling in party politics to secure contract extensions and avoid disciplinary proceedings because of his involvement in the R900 million Comperio scandal have become so intensive that it has been described as a “coup”.
So intensive was this aggressive lobbying that many councillors – ANC and EFF – even wanted his name removed from the Comperio Report despite the report already widely reported on in the public domain with Nkoane’s name.
Nkoane’s efforts to avoid accountability for alleged corrupt practices and gross neglect of his duties – and now the failure to yet appoint a permanent successor – were closely supported by Speaker Tsokolibane who used spurious excuses such as security and missing recording equipment to postpone vital council meetings , said political sources.
“Nkoane has spent hundreds of millions of Rand irregularly on security in many forms – including for himself – so why can he not guarantee the security of democratic institutions such as vital council meetings from so-called protest action? And why does Tsokolibane not hold Nkoane to account for this and cooperate with him to delay vital governance decisions?” asked one ANC political source.
Tsokolibane, a member of the ruling ANC, is seen as exceptionally close to the EFF, which has consistently followed the Speaker’s lead and that of the ANC Chief Whip in council on on all matters relating to Nkoane.
As Speaker, Tsokolibane is responsible for the conduct and discipline of Councillors and is seen as responsible for the culture of non-payment for municipal services extending to the highest levels in council as well.
Nkoane has also been linked to an intensive dirty tricks smear campaign against the media, leading business figures, uncaptured elements at ELM and even politicians, to the extent of posting threats on social media.
Despite being appointed by Gauteng Province to clean up ELM, Nkoane approved huge unauthorised security contracts and also destroyed the smart meter revenue stream of ELM by abruptly dismantling the most advanced and lucrative project of its kind in Gauteng.
Independent experts have calculated that since July, Nkoane’s disastrous smart meter replacement campaign – which only kicked off after failure to make even hand-over arrangements with contractor BXCSA – has cost ELM almost R100 million in lost revenue, vastly increased illegal connections and damage to infrastructure.
At the same time Nkoane also gained massive 21% power tariff increases from energy regulator Nersa, belatedly and under false pretences, leading to a successful court challenge by the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) and a Gauteng High Court order rescinding the tariff increases.
Despite these illegal steps leading to the gouging of more than R300 million in extra revenue from over-taxed and under-serviced residents and business, Nkoane failed to adhere to an agreement with Eskom which threatened a total power blackout .
Paying Eskom over R141 million then led to many ELM service providers not being paid which created much hardship and misery in the region.
“Councillors seem to have abdicated their responsibility to Emfuleni residents and communities to an unaccountable official. There is no political control over corrupt officials at ELM but then again we should note we get the government we deserve,” another political activist told MooiVaal Media (Ster & Vaalweekblad).