Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Jose Coetzee and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng.
The DA Setsoto Caucus will submit a detailed report to CoGTA and National Treasury outlining the ANC-led Council’s unlawful decisions and the resulting financial and governance risks to Setsoto Local Municipality.
Setsoto LM ANC-led Council’s unlawful decisions and disregard for legal processes have placed the municipality at serious financial and governance risk.
Despite repeated interventions, the ANC caucus continues to ignore legislation and specialised legal advice, exposing both the municipality and individual councillors to significant consequences.
On 16 July 2025, the ANC caucus unlawfully dismissed the Senior Manager: Technical Services, ignoring and overruling the presiding officer’s sanction. When the municipality lost the CCMA case, the ANC again chose to ignore expert advice and, on 21 November, resolved to file a review, despite having no reasonable prospects of success and at high cost to the public purse.
The CCMA award, issued on 11 November, found the dismissal procedurally and substantively unfair and ordered reinstatement and back pay of R342,544, including interest. Although the Senior Manager was found guilty on several charges, the presiding officer correctly applied the Disciplinary Regulations and imposed a lawful alternative sanction that should have been implemented.
The municipality has already spent more than R2.6 million on this matter, with more bills still to come. These amounts exclude the costs of the review, which will further escalate the financial burden.
Since 29 August, the DA has warned the ANC caucus across multiple Council and Special Council meetings that their actions expose the Municipality to fruitless and wasteful expenditure and may trigger personal liability under the MFMA. These warnings were ignored.
With the review unlikely to conclude before the Senior Manager’s contract expires, the municipality risks spending more taxpayer money on litigation with no practical outcome, while the Senior Manager is already back in office.