MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: The controversial appointment of an Interim Board for the equally controversial North West Housing Corporation (NWHC) by MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Gaoage Oageng Molapisi, this week was met with public outcry from members of the community and opposition parties alike.
Leading the opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province refused to accept the Interim Board arguing that the appointment was a political move by the ANC.
Molapisi said the Interim Board would take office with effect from 1 April until a new board was appointed.
The MEC has made appointments in terms of Section 3(2) of the North West Housing Corporation Act No. 24 of 1982. The primary mission of the NWHC is to provide housing through development and property management.
The interim board members included all former North West Govern-ment personalities Dr Manketsi Mamoabi Emily Tlhape; Kabelo Daniel Mataboge; Wendy Joy Nelson; Dikeledi Moagi; Ntobo Damelord Samuel Tsagae; Saboeng Sarah Nkatlo; Seatlathebe Ephraim Lepomane and Nomtsama Lenah Miga.
In terms of Section 3(2) of the Act, MEC Molapisi designated Dr Tlhape as the Chairperson of the Interim Board, with Mataboge serving as Deputy Chairperson.
The Interim Board has been directed to lead review of the current Act; and kickstart the process of filling the vacancy of the CEO, as the tenure of the incumbent ends in July.
Immediate fo-cus will also be on the Smart and Mega Cities Project, including the Mahikeng Student City.
In their statement on Tuesday, the DA through their Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, CJ Steyl MPL, said the party noted with dismay, the announcement by Molapisi, appointing an Interim Board.
“Six of the eight Interim Board members have political ties to the ANC. It is evident that the purpose of these appointments was to secure jobs for ANC cadres rather than attract skilled, qualified and experienced professionals to strengthen governance at the NWHC towards delivering on the entity’s mandate. The Interim NWHC Board announced by MEC Molapisi is nothing but blatant cadre deployment.
“The interim board is politically compromised, with most of its members aligned to the ANC. It brings into question whether this interim board will be able to implement and maintain good governance at the NWHC in line with the Companies Act and King 4 principles or whether it will continue to advance the ANC’s party-political mandate. The two are clearly at odds considering the disastrous state the NWHC finds itself in.
“In the case of the NWHC, the political mandate is misaligned, completely dismissive of the current realities the North West faces. Both MEC Molapisi, and the NWHC remain hellbent on building mega and smart cities in North West, despite the ever-reducing funding available to fund core service delivery mandates like Health, Education, Public Works, Roads and Economic Development.
The NWHC Act, as it currently stands, extends no mandate to the NWHC to build anything at all, despite this legal reality, there appears to be no concern whatsoever in the proposed build of mega and smart cities by the NWHC to the tune of R74 billion – almost R20 billion more that the total annual budget of the North West Provincial Government.
“We will also question MEC Molapisi in the Committee on how he identified these individuals and what his reasoning is in their appointments, and specifically, which individuals were excluded from his consideration. We will not allow the NWHC to remain just another entity,” Steyl said.
