The brother of African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, Jabu Mbalula, has been appointed acting Prime Minister of the Free State for a month.
Mbalula’s appointment runs from Friday, November 15 to December 15, as Prime Minister Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae is reportedly on leave.
FIKILE MBALULA’S BROTHER APPOINTED AS ACTIVE PREMIER IN FREE STATE
Jabu Ntsokolo Ishmael Mbalula is familiar with the Free State provincial government as he previously served as its spokesperson.
He was appointed after the May 29 elections MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport in the province.
He also served as SA Ambassador to Romania from 2017 until his return to South Africa.
In 2022, an investigative report into the illegal appointment of staffers in the Free State metro municipality of Mangaung exposed Jabu Mbalula as one of the ghost staffers who allegedly cost the municipality millions in salaries every month, while never reporting for a single day of work.
The citizen reported that most ANC cadre deployments occurred after the 2021 local government elections, when individuals identified as “skeleton staff” were signed up, often without letters of appointment or contracts, in violation of the Municipal System Act.
According to the report, ghost workers received a total of R2.5 million in salaries in January alone. In March, the salary bill shot up to R9 million as the number of staffers hired increased from 125 to 165.
Following Jabu’s appointment, the ANC in the Free State held a media briefing to defend the decision to appoint him to the executive council.
FREE STATE PREMIER IN HOT WATER OVER ALLEGED CORRUPTION
Meanwhile, Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae is reportedly at loggerheads with the ANC in the province over corruption allegations against her and her husband Lawrence Mathae, chairman of the Mangaung Municipal Council.
In October, Sunday World reported that a road construction and maintenance contractor, Patrick Phuti of New Beginnings Projects, claimed his company was appointed to do work worth R269 million on a 37.4km stretch of tarmac road by the Department of Roads and Transport led by Letsoha -Mathae as MEC.
Phuti told the publication he was “very angry” that the Prime Minister had given him a raw deal when his three-year road maintenance contract was abruptly terminated seven months ago.
“I bought Lawrence a Mercedes Benz V-Class 300 worth over R2 million. When things went wrong, I sent my men to their house to seize the vehicle,” the businessman said.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the province have opened a case of corruption and money laundering against Letsoha-Mathae.
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Nokwanda Ncwane
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