“Maloka has been officially appointed as the new Mayor of Sedibeng, despite the recommendations by Advocate William Mokhari that the municipality should be placed under administration.”

Advocate Mokhari was appointed to probe allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement in Sedibeng. He subsequently released a damning report last year, indicating that Sedibeng had no financial systems of control put in place by the municipality, including no supply chain management policy, leading to blatant mismanagement, while serious cases of irregular expenditure, procurement deviations, and corruption materialised.

“Placing this compromised Mayor in Sedibeng is confirmation of the ANC’s unwillingness to end corruption. The Mokhari report raised serious concerns about the activities of the previous Mayor, yet now she is being replaced by someone with even more serious allegations against them. As Maloka nears the end of her tenure at Lesedi, the ANC is rewarding her allegedly corrupt behaviour with a promotion, something that the South African taxpayer has become accustomed to.”

The DA said that by placing the SDM under administration, the ANC would have saved the municipality from total collapse and ensure that service delivery is restored.

“However, the ANC, which is known for its reputation of protecting its cadres, is now shielding Maloka from facing accountability for the R7 billion Aerodrome Project tender which was awarded without following proper procurement processes and ignoring Treasury regulations, while she was Mayor of the Lesedi Local Municipality. Appointing Maloka is no more than a desperate move to cling to power and an insult to the people of Sedibeng as she has failed in delivering adequate service delivery in her previous role.

“The DA will closely monitor how Maloka is going to govern Sedibeng and we will continue to hold her accountable for the R7 billion Aerodrome Project and service delivery failures in her previous and current role.”