Just a day before Centlec CEO Malefane Sekoboto’s contract was due to expire, the Mangaung Metro held a closed council meeting to extend his contract.
DA Councillor Dirk Kotzé says his party condemns the meeting held on 30 December in a virtual meeting behind closed doors in which questionable decisions were pushed. “The closed meeting had limited public access and undermined transparency,” he said.
“Despite the municipality being under administration since 2019, governance continues to deteriorate because the necessary legislation is not being followed.”
The DA will alert oversight bodies, including the Auditor General, the Provincial Legislature, and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, to urgently address these ongoing governance failures.
Kotzé says the DA opted not to participate in the vote regarding a three-month extension of the Centlec CEO’s contract. The DA warned that this decision violates legal requirements and exposes the municipality to serious governance, audit, and legal risks.
Sekoboto’s contract of five years expired on 31 December 2025. The ANC, EFF, Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and Patriotic Alliance (PA) nevertheless voted to keep the CEO in office until 31 March.
According to the Municipal Systems Act, CEOs of municipal entities must be employed on fixed-term contracts. Once such a contract expires, the position must be declared vacant and an acting CEO legally appointed. Kotzé said extending an expired contract is unlawful and circumvents the very safeguards designed to prevent the recycling of senior management contracts.
“By approving this extension in committee and excluding the public, the ANC-led council has chosen a legally questionable shortcut instead of following a transparent and compliant process. We cannot allow the ANC to approve various items behind closed doors while withholding critical information from the media and residents. The media and the public have the right to know that the current Centlec CEO’s contract has been extended for a further three months.”
Kotzé says secret meetings and unlawful decisions erode public trust and further weaken an already fragile administration.
“If the DA governed the metro, we would have obeyed the law, kept council meetings open to the public, legally appointed an acting CEO, avoided unnecessary legal exposure, and prioritised residents over political convenience.”
He says the DA insists that Mangaung’s leadership govern openly, lawfully, and in the best interests of residents.
