An ANC-led municipality in Limpopo fired its chief financial officer (CFO) this week amid allegations of gross negligence in supply chain management processes.
The Mopani district municipal council showed its CFO, Sibongile Mathebula, the door on Tuesday. This follows a lengthy disciplinary process that began in December 2024.
The Citizen understands that amongst the key charges Mathebula faced are gross negligence relating to the appointment of Ximatsatsa Investment Pty Ltd.
“The company was awarded a R5.6 million tender purchase order for water-related parts for a period of 36 months.
On Friday, an inside source at the Mopani district municipality, who asked to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, claimed that a panel of contractors for the district was appointed in 2023, long before the company was registered.
A year later, when the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) audited the municipality’s financial books, she flagged the irregularity and notified the council.
The matter was then brought to the council for notice, which then placed the CFO on precautionary suspension. The suspension, in December 2024, was with pay.
Since then, the matter has been dragged through the courts until the council took a final decision to dismiss her on Tuesday.
When contacted by The Citizen, the former CFO confirmed that she was aware of the charges as she underwent a disciplinary hearing, but refused to comment further.
” My legal team is still processing the verdict and the charges. They will advise accordingly thereafter about the wayforward”
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Water links
The Citizen further understands that Mathebula is a former CFO for the beleaguered Lepelle Northern Water Agency. Lepelle is a state-owned water utility under the auspices of the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). It is responsible for the provision and construction of bulk water infrastructure in Limpopo municipalities.
Mathebula allegedly left the institution under a cloud amid allegations of corruption in the tender award process. Ironically, despite all the worrying R1 billion questions about her departure at Lepelle, the Mopani district municipality still saw nothing wrong in hiring her to manage its more than R2 billion annual budget.
Mayor must act
The DA in the Mopani district municipality has welcomed the verdict on Mathebule, saying the decision was a right step in the right direction.
DA councillor at the municipality, Mahlatswa Lebbeus Ramalepe, called on the executive mayor, Pule Shayi, to speedily commence the recruitment process for a new suitably qualified CFO.
Ramalepe further urged the municipal manager, Tshepo Mogano, to implement consequence management to the implicated officials within the finance and supply chain management directorates for the misappropriation of municipal funds, and to table the report to the council.
Corruption warning
In his State of the Nation Address last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that rampant corruption in local government was negatively impacting the quality of service delivery in communities.
According to the Institute for Security Studies, corruption in municipalities is a systemic issue, often manifesting as organised crime rather than isolated incidents, characterised by collusion between officials and service providers, tender fraud, nepotism, and overpricing of services.
This rampant corruption severely hampers service delivery, erodes public trust, and leads to significant financial losses-roughly R32 billion annually in some contexts-damaging local infrastructure and economic growth.
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