The Wild (North) West

Madibeng – the North West municipality famous for being home to Brits – is where good governance goes to die. Think duplicate payments to service providers, irregular appointments, irregular spending of grants and a failure to hold statutory meetings. At least, that’s what’s currently under investigation. 

It’s a place where the mayor – a “travelgate” alumnus – went on “special leave” in April amid accusations of nepotism and using the company bakkie for work on his farm. That same month, the municipal manager was suspended for alleged irregular procurement, unlawful withdrawals and fruitless expenditure (some reportedly say it’s a witch hunt). And the CFO, and directors of technical services and human settlements were facing suspension, including for alleged misconduct in procurement and deviation processes, City Press reports. Everyone claimed no wrongdoing. No April fools there. 

This while the community struggles for water, infrastructure is stripped bare, and roads disintegrate. Indicatively, just 47% of the community has refuse collected once a week, and only half have flush toilets. 

It’s no surprise Madibeng has been under administration six times. 

And yet “congratulations are in order”. That’s the word from mayor Douglas Maimane. In fact, he’s so proud of his municipality’s qualified audit opinion that he made a poster crowing about the fact – featuring a large picture of himself, no less. 

Now, certainly, a qualified opinion is a step up from the adverse opinion the municipality was awarded for the previous four years. But it’s no great shakes. The auditor-general (AG) flagged a riot of bad governance, making findings around unfair and uncompetitive procurement; tenders awarded to family members, partners, associates and state officials; and unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful, and irregular expenditure totalling a cumulative R7.62bn. Yes, billion.   

By the end of the 2024 financial year, Madibeng had already spent more than 50% of this year’s budget, and it ended the year with a R308m deficit. But let’s not burst Maimane’s bubble. 

The greatest hits

North West isn’t insignificant in the greater scheme of things. It’s a resource-rich province, producing most of the country’s platinum (South Africa is the biggest producer in the world), and a quarter of its gold, according to the government. It’s a big maize and sunflower seed producer, and it’s got a decent tourism sector (did anyone say Sun City?).

And yet, it’s plagued by high levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality. And that’s arguably the result of poor governance. See, Madibeng is no outlier in the North West. As of October last year, it was one of eight municipalities in the province under administration, according to co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.  

It’s hard to keep up, but here are the greatest hits: 

In Matlosana (Klerksdorp), it seems questionable conduct is a prerequisite for appointment. The CFO and municipal manager have both been arrested for alleged corruption and money-laundering. In addition, the former mayor resigned amid allegations of corruption. He was subsequently appointed to chair the municipal public accounts committee, the DA says. So, accountability in action. And the current mayor’s spending is in the spotlight – notably, a R280,000 boardroom table and R700,000 apparently spent on the mayoral residence to “remove his predecessor’s smell”, insiders told City Press. 

As an MP conducting oversight reportedly said: “Everyone is arrested or on bail.” 

In Tswaing, the mayor and speaker are at war with the municipal manager and director of community service, and have spent R10m on failed disciplinary battles, according to City Press. They even reportedly employed heavily armed guards to prevent the officials from entering the municipal premises. And they’re said to have blown millions on lawyers after nine councillors were expelled for forming a parallel council in 2020, the publication reports.  

The mayor and speaker have also ignored a directive from the provincial government to terminate the services of an acting municipal manger. So, two municipal managers for a municipality that’s about as stable as a panda in a canoe.  

Double-dipping is not unique to Tswaing. In the “horror show” – Cyril Ramaphosa’s words – that is Ditsobotla (Lichtenburg), there are two municipal managers, two speakers and two mayors after an apparently rogue council meeting in Mahikeng elected parallel leadership in March. The courts, for now, hold that original mayor Mazwi Moruri, speaker Jarious Modisakeng and acting municipal manager Rasupang Moeketsi remain in charge. But the ANC has expelled 10 councillors, according to the SABC, including Moruri and Modisakeng, because it wants rogue mayor Molefe Morutse in the mayoral seat. Just some light political interference where it’s needed most. 

In something straight out of a spaghetti western, there was reportedly a shootout in March, when fired municipal manager Olaotse Bojosinyane apparently tried to force his way into the municipal building. And another in May, as two rival security firms had at it. 

The council was last week placed under administration for the ninth time. 

In Ramotshere Moiloa (Zeerust) there are also two mayors. The incumbent would seem to be Dinah Pitso, who has turned to the courts. This because the council meeting that declared Itumeleng Moarabi mayor apparently fell short on due process. Pitso is also mayor as far as the ANC is concerned. Nonetheless, Moarabi has apparently been occupying the office with 40 bodyguards since July. The heavies are reportedly now demanding payment from the municipality for services rendered.   

There was a shootout at the municipal buildings in late August, when the gunmen seized the keys to the premises, a parliamentary oversight visit was told. 

In pretty much all eight municipalities (including Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Kgetlengrivier and Naledi), there are AG findings around the financial statements (despite R153m spent on consultants), unfair and uncompetitive procurement, awards to family members, associates and state officials, and expenditure, asset, revenue and consequence management – among others. Most had eaten into more than half of this year’s budget by the end of last year. They take up to 1,400 days to pay creditors and up to 500-plus days to collect debt.  

There’s doubt around the going-concern status of most. And they’ve run up a total deficit of R1.52bn for the past financial year and cumulative unauthorised expenditure of R14.21bn. 

But, hey, at least they’re not all shooting at each other. 

Blame game 

Now, the North West has the dubious distinction of having had 35% of its municipalities under administration as of last October. That’s easily the most in the country. (Gauteng was second, with 27%; Limpopo, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape, by contrast, all came in under 1%.) 

It leaves a poser: why? 

Well, other than terrible audit outcomes, the other commonality in these errant municipalities is that they all have ANC-led governments, and the ANC in the province is a mess.

Voracious patronage networks and deep factionalism translate into a revolving door of political and administrative leaders, with provincial-level politicians interfering in the goings-on of local governments. (Here’s more on the North West and the reasons for its slide.)

One hates to resort to cliché, but it would seem to be true in the North West that the politics is so vicious because the stakes are so low.

There are only 13 seats for the province in the National Assembly on the regional lists, and at present only eight for the ANC. It puts real national-level politics out of reach for most aspiring MPs; those that show aptitude and ambition are parachuted to provincial government, from where they hope to be graduated to national level.

All of which leaves the local level as the real site of contestation for most – a mass of mediocre leaders and administrators competing for meagre spoils in an otherwise resource-rich province.

In a region stripped of economic opportunity for the man on the street, bankrupt and failing municipalities are employment machines. That puts a premium on municipal positions – and makes local-level politicians easy fodder for factional fights. The situation is only likely to get worse as the province gears up for its next electoral conference. 

Which all goes to say that the North West will continue to be a black hole of governance until such time as the ANC cleans house – or it loses its dominance in the province. The wait for either will make Godot look like a paragon of punctuality.  

_{Top image: Rawpixel/Currency collage.}

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