Sedibeng district mayor ousted in a MONC

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The African National Congress councillor Lerato Maloka has been ousted as Sedibeng district mayor in a Motion of No Confidence (MONC) during a council sitting in Vereeniging.

The MONC brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday passed with 26 votes in favour, whilst 21 votes against and two abstained.

Within the next 14 days, another council meeting will be convened where a new mayor will be elected.

In the run-up to this meeting, Sibusiso Dyonase, the DA Sedibeng caucus leader said they will consider all its options as they continue to act in the best interest of all residents in the Sedibeng district.

He revealed that the motion was brought last year, following Maloka’s failure to, amongst other things, implement the financial recovery plan, as was required of her by the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), leaving the municipality’s finances in limbo.

“Today is a good day for Sedibeng, an ineffective mayor must leave her seat. During her tenure, mayor Maloka lost the physical mayoral chain, and today, she has finally been relieved of her duties.

“This, alongside a hefty increase in fruitless wasteful and irregular expenditure, unfunded budgets and allowing the municipality to reach a point where 75% of its finances is being spent on salaries, severely impacting service delivery, made her exit today a foregone conclusion,” he stated.

Dyonase emphasised that mayor Maloka failed in her statutory obligations, as well as her moral obligations to the municipality, its employees, and its people.

He added; “Whilst the municipality was struggling to pay salaries, the mayor felt it prudent to spend more than R550 000 on a trip to Germany.

“But most shockingly, she refused to use a Mercedes Benz GLB provided to her for an entire year. When she was finally forced to use it by council, the car developed mechanical problems – technicians found that brown sugar had been poured into the engine.

Prioritising people of Sedibeng district

“We are proud to have contributed to the end of mayor Maloka’s reign. We will always, wherever we are, put residents’ needs first. Our goal is the prioritisation of the people of Sedibeng.

“The only way they will be put first, is if an effective government is put in place that will ensure an end to corruption, and work towards the provision of services.”

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng has also welcomed Maloka’s removal and said under the ANC, the municipality has been in a state of decay, riddled with corruption, incompetence,
mismanagement and poor service delivery.

Under Maloka’s leadership, service delivery has collapsed, financial irregularities have worsened, and residents have been subjected to deteriorating living conditions, remarked Nkululeko Dunga, EFF provincial chairperson.

He highlighted that the municipality has failed to address basic issues such as electricity and water supply, sewage spills, road maintenance, and waste collection, leaving communities in crisis.

“It has long been evident that the ANC no longer commands a majority in Sedibeng district and Emfuleni municipality.

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“However, their continued arrogance and refusal to acknowledge their declining support have led them to govern as if they still hold an outright majority.

“Today’s vote serves as a reality check—the people of Sedibeng did not give any political organization outright majority to lead the district and Emfuleni local municipality.

“No party can claim unchecked power and accountability will be enforced at all times. The people of Sedibeng deserve accountable leadership that prioritizes service delivery over self-enrichment, and the removal of Maloka is a step in that direction,” he expressed.