MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: The long-awaited era to turn around Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality into a stable but progressive local government sphere compliant to acceptable legislation, has now come with the secondment of a no-nonsense manager.
The recent arrival of Dr Auchalie “Mr Fix It” Mothupi as the Acting Municipal Manager (AMM) at the controversially clouded institution, comes with the expectation that he will introduce his popular “work-or-quit” management style - and it could not have come at a better time.
Last week, Dr Mothupi, the doyen of transformation, was greeted with ululations and approval by the Troika-led Mayor, Khumalo Molefe, who hailed Dr Mothupi’s credentials and cautioned that the Acting Municipal Manager was expected to stop the recent allegations of corruption that culminated in the suspension of Municipal Manager (MM), Allan Losaba who was suspended late last year for allegedly bringing the institution into disrepute.
The District Municipality attracted reproach from many quarters including the South African Government, North West Provincial Government, the business fraternity and citizens at large for being the first institution in the country to receive a Certificate of Debt and resulted into Losaba being ordered to pay R4.5 million from his pocket as per the instructions of the Auditor General.
This is attributed to the controversial management characterised by ill-disciplined managers and workers who prompted Molefe to paint a worrying picture about the municipality and its failure to deliver services to the people.
Welcoming Dr Mothupi, Molefe admitted to an avalanche of irregularities and inconsistencies all amounting to corruption, which led to the Council resolution to impose remedial action against Losaba and place him on precautionary suspension as a step to solicit help for rectitude from the Provincial Government.
He warned senior managers that the arrival of Dr Mothupi meant they would consider accountability as their priority and appealed for support for the AMM in order to improve performance on audit outcomes. “Dr Mothupi is a professional with a plethora of experience academically and has a Doctorate in Economics. His CV is not just a public document. He is here until the finalisation of the disciplinary action against Mr Losaba. As Troika we have given him a full report about our performance and conduct because there’s nothing to hide, since we know what we are targeting,” asserted Molefe.
He said they informed Dr Mothupi about the search and seizure raid by the SAPS at the municipal offices; available senior managers’ vacancies; resignation of the SCM (Supply Chain Management) manager; expediting disciplinary measures against the suspended MM; engaging the AGSA on the issue of the Certificate of Debt; finalising and resolving the matter between the municipality and Magalies Water, among other issues.
In his response, Dr Mothupi committed himself to create stability and called for cooperation from the management and employees. “I thank the Provincial Government for the confidence in me to extinguish the cloud of uncertainty and disorder here. We need to create a turnaround strategy immediately because service delivery in Ngaka Modiri Molema is very weak. We need to be concerned about the negative public perception created by the people,” said Dr Mothupi. He urged the management and staff to support the political leadership for the Troika to deliver a profound report to the government and warned that issues of performance were “non-negotiable”.
“Let’s respect the leadership. It is embarrassing for the Mayor to call people and be greeted with voicemails. Let the Mayor receive first-hand information. Let’s get out of the ICU and start the new year on a positive note,” Dr Mothupi appealed.
