Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Tjaart van der Walt and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Tumelo Rammile.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will formally request a full explanation from the Speaker of Council regarding the unexplained absence of Mangaung Municipal Manager (MM), Mr Sello More, from a Council meeting, as well as the failure to appoint an acting Municipal Manager to support Council proceedings.
The Mangaung Municipal Manager, Mr Sello More, left Mangaung Council exposed when he failed to attend the scheduled Council meeting, without an acting Municipal Manager being appointed to advise Council during the proceedings.
In terms of the legal and governance framework applicable to municipalities, the Municipal Manager serves as the accounting officer and principal advisor to Council on administrative, legal and procedural matters. Where the Municipal Manager is unavailable, an acting Municipal Manager should be formally designated to ensure continuity of administration and proper support to Council.
No acting Municipal Manager was present next to the Speaker during the sitting to advise on matters before Council, despite multiple important decisions being considered.
When the DA requested reasons from the Speaker for the absence of both the Municipal Manager and an acting Municipal Manager, the request was denied, and no explanation was provided to Council.
At the same meeting, the DA formally informed the Council of the disciplinary charges laid against the Municipal Manager.
The incident again highlights the growing dysfunction within Mangaung’s governance and administrative systems. Failures by both political and administrative leadership to attend scheduled meetings have become increasingly common.
This is largely driven by the absence of a centralised system to coordinate meetings, along with constant changes to meeting dates and times, and frequent short-notice postponements and rescheduling.
These failures undermine oversight, weaken accountability, disrupt governance processes and erode public confidence in the institution of Council itself.
Mangaung residents deserve a municipality where governance processes are respected, meetings are properly coordinated, and senior leadership fulfils its responsibilities to Council and the public.